Alternative
by jinxedklutz
Summary: It's kind of ironic. When we were first starting out, exploring the universe, going through the Stargate, Jack treated me like a little, helpless, annoying child. But now that I'm actually a child, he has no idea what to do with me. [friendship & samjack]
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own SG-1... uhm, and if I did, I would have totally screwed it up. :D

**Spoilers:** Hm... I don't know. Lots, and lots, I guess. But I don't know the number of the season, except that it's not the last one, and it's not the one before that.

**A/N:** Please forgive me because Jack and Daniel are out of character more than I can count due to alternate realities and other such nonsense. :D Thank you for your time and patience.

- - -

**"Alternative"**

**Chapter One**

It was another late night at the SGC for Daniel Jackson. He was busy writing notes and getting sidetracked in translating and trying to match up catalogues with actual objects. It might have been boring for someone else, but for him it was like a hobby he got paid to do...

Except tonight, the ticking of the wall clock seemed to sound extra loud, and he found himself straying from task to task with no real goal in mind. He was either bored, or something was bothering him. If something was bothering him, though, it was just on the edge of his conscious mind. And he wasn't about to drag it into the light of day and mull over it.

He was just too alone to make any room to feel sorry for himself.

A noise at the door drew his attention away from his present puttering, and Daniel blinked and stared at the man standing just inside the doorway--Jack O'Neill, yet _not_ Jack O'Neill.

"Daniel, I need you to come with me through the quantum mirror," he said, motioning with his zat gun.

Daniel closed and put the book he'd been reading down on his desk. "What?"

Jack's twin frowned slightly and said with urgency, "I'll make this quick: My Daniel, Teal'c, and Sam are all dead, and an important translation project has come up. I have all the other research team, but good workers though they are, they're not great like... you," he finished, smiling awkwardly.

Daniel rose to his feet, his mouth gaping slightly. "Pardon my suspicion, but... how do I know you're not some evil twin, or something?"

"Some ev--Daniel, I can't prove it, so you're just going to have to trust me." Jack's eyes were sincere, and there was an openness to him that seemed out of place with _his_ Jack's nature.

Daniel felt inclined to believe him. "Do we have to go _now_?" he wondered.

Jack nodded. "Yes, it's important. Besides, I don't think I can wait for the rest of the SGC to come to the same conclusion that you have. I've already had to zat half a dozen SF's."

Daniel frowned, but said, "Well, can I at least leave a note?"

The General's doppelganger grinned and motioned with his left hand. "Go ahead, but make it quick."

Daniel grabbed a piece of paper out of a notebook and jotted a quick note. 'Jack, Sam, Teal'c, I've gone with Jack's alternate reality self to help him with a translating project. Hope to be back for supper, Daniel.'

He straightened and crossed over to Jack's double, who took his arm in a more gentle fashion than usual and pulled him toward the door and out of the room.

The mirror was safe in storage, but most of the security was safely unconscious. They uneventfully made it through the mirror device. "You don't think they'll come after me do you?"

Jack gave him a look. "Probably... Daniel, how are you feeling?"

"Hunh?" Daniel asked, and the man, who wasn't really the Jack he knew took his arm and questioned, "Tell me the truth... How are you feeling?"

"Confused?" Daniel said, frowning, and pursing his lips. What was this Jack up to, anyway?

"I lied to you," Jack said, quietly, "It's just that I figured you weren't too far gone yet in some reality to be able to talk with you about this."

"Jack, what the heck's going on?" Daniel demanded. He was seriously starting to get angry.

"In this reality," Jack said, carefully, "You were sort of going downhill before you died. Losing faith, I guess is what you'd call it. When you died... I sort of came to _my_ senses, though."

"What do you mean, I was going downhill?" Daniel asked. He was already more than annoyed about being tricked into going with this Jack, and now this too?

"You lost your innocence, your _joie de vivre_. You became just another cold, calculated soldier. And I think I was partially responsible," Jack finished with a sigh. "I thought maybe I could help you... since you're from a nearly identical reality."

"How identical?" Daniel asked, trying to wrap his mind around what Jack was actually saying.

"Daniel, my Daniel, died trying to save the scientists on Kelowna... There was no ascension, because by that time, he was already too far gone." 'In more than one way,' Daniel heard the silent words in Jack's tone.

"Look," Daniel said carefully, wondering how long this Jack had been spying on his reality through the quantum mirror, "Maybe I should go back... If you don't really need my help..."

"Daniel," Jack said, "You shouldn't. Just stay here awhile, okay?"

Daniel shook his head and glanced around the storage room. Most of the corners were dark, and there were crates stacked against the walls and on top of each other. For a fleeting second Daniel wondered what could possibly be in all of them, and then his attention returned to the anxious, careworn face of the double standing before him.

"I don't think I should stay..." What he really thought was that maybe this Jack was a little lost and possibly dangerous. He hated to put too much credit on his own influence on Jack's life, but the guy _had_ lost Teal'c and Sam as well. Maybe he'd had a screw or two jarred loose by the shock.

Jack reached out for Daniel, and he flinched. The General--_Was_ he a general in this reality?--noticed, but clasped his hand around Daniel's upper arm anyway. "Please stay."

"Okay," Daniel relented after gazing into those desperate, dark eyes for an indicisive moment or two.

When Jack grinned with relief, something occurred to Daniel. "How did you know my reality was close to yours? That mirror has been locked up in a closet all this time... Unless you came through yourself and were sneaking around spying on us, you couldn't have seen anything of significance through the mirror on this side... Except dust and cobwebs, maybe..." He stopped then and stared at Jack very hard. "Did you come through the mirror before this?"

Jack looked sheepish. "Yes, okay? Borrowed technology developed from the Reetu by the Tok'ra..." He finished, apologetically, "Look, I know this isn't the best way to do this, bringing you here under false pretenses and all, but I couldn't think of any other way."

That was more like the Jack he was used to, Daniel contemplated. He wasn't sure he could trust the man, but maybe he had a point. Daniel _had_ been sort of aimlessly tagging along on every mission lately.

"Okay," he answered, reluctantly, and Jack nodded but there was relief on his face.

"Come on," he said, and motioned with his zat gun. As they left the storeroom, Daniel noticed an odd stillness to the halls of the SGC. It wasn't just quiet, it was as if no one was there... or, more like no one on the whole _earth_ was left.

"What happened here?" he wondered, feeling as if he should keep his voice hushed.

"We won," Jack answered, sighing. "It's a long, cold story, Danny. And I'm too tired to tell it." He didn't add "right now," and Daniel got the idea that he meant just plain "too tired." What sort of victory, he wondered, could have brought on that kind of weariness?

'Maybe I don't want to know,' he added, silently, as a sort of mental "knock on wood."

Out in the sunlight, the feeling of walking through a tomb lifted, and Daniel took a deep, cleansing breath. He let it out and followed Jack to the only truck that was parked in the SGC parking. He sat shotgun, and Jack drove out through the open gate. He stopped the car and got out, manually closing the gate behind them.

When he got back in, he mumbled, "I guess it won't be the last time I do that..."

Daniel asked, "So you _are_ bringing me back. You'll forgive me if I assumed I was being kidnapped, I mean."

Jack snorted. "Yeah, I'm bringing you back. Not that either of us wants to be down there again," he finished, grimly.

"So I wasn't imagining Death breathing down my neck," Daniel murmured.

Jack looked at him askance. "Guess you weren't."

- - -

At least Jack's house was the same, Daniel thought, as he followed his, well not _his_, but the other Daniel's friend, into his home.

"Have a seat, Daniel," Jack said, tiredly. Yeah, now that Daniel thought about it, he hadn't been imagining Jack's soul-weariness. What cost had the freedom of earth been bought at? "I'll get you a soft drink or something..."

"What," Daniel quipped as he thumped down onto the familiar, yet not familiar sofa, "No beer?"

"I gave it up when I started having hallucinations," Jack said, and his face was pale enough that Daniel believed him. He swallowed hard, and Jack drifted toward the kitchen like a ghost.

"This place is the same," he called to Jack, after a moment, just to fill the silence with something.

"Except for the beer, right?" Jack replied, and came back into the living room, handed Daniel a cola and sat down in his favorite arm chair. His smile was strained.

"What is all this about?" Daniel asked, after popping the top of his coke open, absently. "Catching up for old time's sake?"

"I told you already," Jack answered. He hadn't bothered to open his soda. "I want to try to help you, Danny."

"What makes you think I _need_ help--especially yours?" Daniel snapped, and wished he hadn't.

Jack laughed mirthlessly. "What have I done to you, Daniel?" he asked after he'd stopped. "You used to be so wide-eyed and full of wonder and passion. I sucked the life out of you because I couldn't let go of Charlie."

Daniel blinked. "Charlie? What has he got to do with any of this? Besides sending you on a suicide mission to Abydos, that is?"

"God, Daniel!" Jack answered and set down his cola with a loud twang onto the sidetable. "He was my son! _My_ Daniel was like a son... after I lost Skaara... no, after I _killed_ Skaara, you--_he_ was all I had left!"

Daniel scoffed. "What about Sam? Teal'c? Remember those guys?"

"You're not even listening to me, are you?" Jack growled. "I'm trying to tell you what I tried to tell you all along with my overprotectiveness and my irritated 'Daniel! this and Daniel! that'! I _love_ you... I loved him," he finished softly, and sat back in his seat as if all the air, and life, and pure cussedness had gone out of him.

Daniel stood up, slowly, but then in a rush of fury and hurt and other emotions he couldn't even name, he flung his can of soda across the room. It hit the wall with a resounding smack, but Daniel's eyes were on Jack as he stood there, trying to catch his breath.

Jack's face was inscrutable, and Daniel could find no signs of anything but age and exhaustion there. "You're telling the wrong guy," he snapped, and sat back down.

Jack nodded. "I know... It's just," he ran a hand over his nearly white hair, ruffling it, smoothing it back again... "I just thought maybe I could help you... and _him_ by doing this." By "him," he meant his other self, probably.

"You're an--" Daniel began, viciously, but Jack cut him off.

"Don't you dare say it, Daniel. I've already heard that once, and I don't think you believed it the _first_ time you said it."

Daniel pursed his lips and squinted. "You always act before you think, don't you?" he wondered, the tamer version of what he'd been about to say.

Jack quirked a real smile. "I try."

Daniel snorted and then chuckled, and some of the tension dispersed. "I'm sorry they died," he said more gently, "Really, I am. But I don't see what bringing me here is going to accomplish."

Jack nodded, slowly. His eyes drooped a bit, and Daniel realized he was falling asleep even as they spoke. "Jack...?" The grey head nodded forward, and Jack let out a deep sigh.

Daniel swallowed, rose to his feet, and found an afghan to throw over his friend. Sighing, he thought, 'Looks like I'm spending a night in never, never land.'

- - -

**Another A/N already?!:** Heehee. I should just combine the too, but I'm sorta scattered-brained right now. So I'll just say this--if you review my crappy, holey-plotted story, thanks a bunch! I'll appreciate it a lot. --the "author."


	2. Chapter 2

**My Rating:** pg-13 for non-cussing (darn it's and heck's) and... disturbing ideas that may cause sleeplessness due to the nature of their weirdness. :P**  
**

**- - - **

**"Alternative"**

**Chapter Two**

When Daniel next awakened, he found himself in a familiar guest room in a familiar one-man-sized bed. He got up, tried to stretch out the cricks and knots, then went to use the rest room. But he balked at the door. It was half-open, emitting light... and sound.

"Jack?" he questioned, pushing the door open, uneasily. He wasn't sure he wanted to see this.

Jack was kneeling over the toilet, vomitting, or just finishing. He looked so pale, he was practically green, but he looked up at Daniel, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and offered him a weary smile.

Daniel winced and flushed the toilet for him, trying not to look. "You okay?" he wondered, and reached down to help Jack up.

The old man--he might have only been in his late fifties, but right then he looked older--nodded, and Daniel heaved as Jack started to get to his feet.

Daniel might have pulled a bit too hard, because Jack stumbled and fell against him. Daniel caught his arms and held him steady, and Jack pulled away, looking at his feet in embarrassment. "Are you _drunk_?" Daniel questioned, dryly.

Jack snorted. "I wish. I had a nightmare, Danny. Happens when you're old and crazy like me."

"You're not crazy," Daniel answered, unhappily. "Need help getting back to bed?"

"You mean the lazyboy?" Jack snorted. "I woke up there, with it all dark and gloomy, and I thought I must be in some Goa'uld mothership, waiting to be tortured... or something."

"That's not even the slightest bit amusing," he groused, and led his friend back to the living room. He flipped switches on as he went, and helped Jack get situated on one of the couches. "I'll be right back. You interrupted a time-honored awakening ritual."

Jack actually chuckled. "No prob... I'll just stare into space for awhile."

Daniel nodded, and hurried to get business out of the way. He stopped in the kitchen on his way back and started a pot of coffee. Jack wandered in while he was washing a couple of mugs out, and leaned against the door jamb, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Daniel and coffee," he murmured, "They should be synonymous."

"Some things never change?" Daniel volunteered, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Jack said, "Or they shouldn't."

"What did you dream about?" Daniel questioned, as he leaned back against the counter, waiting for the coffee to finish percolating.

Fluttering his hand vaguely, Jack replied, "Things that were, are, and will be... you know, the usual."

"Huh," Daniel murmured, noncomittaly. "So you think I'm a shell of who I used to be?" His tone was flippant, but there it was now, out in the open--the question that had brought him here.

"I didn't say that," Jack replied, "Just that I didn't want that to happen to you, too."

"Your Daniel was a shell?" he asked, incredulously.

"The coffee's done," Jack evaded.

Daniel turned and busied himself with preparing their cups. He handed Jack's to him when he was through, and the older man sat at the table, finally. Daniel sat across from him, clutching his mug and sipping its contents noisily.

"I was too hard on him," Jack said, "He pulled away. _I_ pulled away. Everything got all out of whack. I think I..." he began, then shook his head and wouldn't continue. He stared down into the depths of the coffee he hadn't even bothered to taste yet.

"You what?" Daniel questioned, hoping his tone wasn't as accusatory as it sounded in his mind.

Jack clenched his jaw. "Never mind."

There was a stretch of uncomfortable silence, and then Daniel finally broke it. "Jack and I... we've finally come to an understanding. You come in, and tell me your Daniel lost his... _joie de vivre_, and then ask me to come with you, and you expect me to just go along with your insanity? I don't want to dredge up old issues that have been put to rest. And when I go back? Have you even thought about what that might do to the relationship I have with _my_ Jack?"

Jack winced, finally meeting Daniel's gaze. "I've thought it through, Daniel. I know I joked when you said I didn't, but I've mulled this over until I was sick to my stomach, literally." He waved a hand, and his voice rose a bit, "_You_ saw me throwing up in there! Maybe this was a bad idea, but I didn't just jump in without a forethought. This was my only alternative..."

"To what?" Daniel asked, his tone subdued now.

"To this," Jack said, waving his hand to indicate his whole, messed up reality. "Maybe I can't make it right _here_ anymore, but I thought it was still possible to help _you_... and the other me."

"Selfish as always," Daniel snapped, then wished he hadn't. "Forget I said that," he told his friend, quickly.

"Said what?" Jack answered, raising his brow in a very Teal'c-like manner.

Daniel sighed. "So how do you propose to help me? I've been to a psychiatrist before, Jack, and we all know how well _that_ went." He couldn't help the warning note in his voice.

Jack's face darkened. "There's only one thing I could think of to do, and I do it, and then I send you back. And I never see you again. Because this doesn't have to do with me--it's about you and the other me. And I know of only one thing that can get him to reach out to you in the way that you need right now."

"What do _you_ know about what I need?" Daniel questioned, surprised at how venomous it came out sounding.

Jack answered, straightforwardly, "Quite a bit, actually."

Daniel bit his lip. "So what's the plan?"

Jack rose and told him, "I'll be right back. The plan is in the other room." When he left, Daniel sat waiting for him, tensely, until he returned. He didn't sit back down, instead he went to Daniel and handed him something.

Daniel took it and realized it was a small vial of something of a dark red color. "What is this?"

"You take it, and you become a child again," Jack answered. He held out another vial, "You take this, and you go back to normal. _Another_ technology we stole along the way."

His mouth dropped open, and Daniel took the other vial. His hand was shaking as he said, "This is crazy."

"Trust me, Daniel," Jack pleaded, and Daniel shook his head back and forth slowly, mouth still hanging open.

"What would I _tell_ him? 'It said "drink me" so I took it,' 'I know you don't like me touching stuff, Jack, but I can't help myself', 'I had no idea what it was'?"

Jack grinned. "I guess you could try all of those. Please, just take them back with you, at least? Or better yet, if you take the first one now, you can tell him I forced you to do it. You think I'm crazy anyway. You can just convince _him_ of it, too."

Daniel just stared this time. "I'm nuts if you are 'cause I'm gonna do it."

"That's the spirit," Jack said, and Daniel chuckled nervously.

He looked down at the red vial in his hand, and then the second, orange liquid that Jack had given him. He started to put the antidote away in his pocket, but Jack held out his hand for it. "Hold on there, you're going to be a kid again, remember. You won't be able to wear those pants." There was old mischief lurking in those dark, nearly unreadable eyes.

Daniel handed over the antidote and mumbled, "Here goes nothin'." Before unscrewing the top of the vial and downing its contents. The last thing he saw before all went dark was Jack's worried frown.

- - -

He woke up on the couch, and mumbled, "I'd better not be naked, Jack..." He groaned and sat up, then blinked at the disproportionate way everything looked. And his voice had been his own, but different, younger and squeakier.

He peered at his hands, and a blob held something out to him. He fumbled for his glasses and put them on, then had to hold them in place because they kept trying to slip off.

Jack chuckled. "I'll get you some eyeglass straps... hold on just a sec," and he rose from the coffee table and vanished.

While he was gone, Daniel glanced down at himself and was happy to see that he was wearing a pair of oversized drawstring swimming shorts and an equally huge t-shirt. He was barefoot, but at least he was wearing _something_.

Jack returned with the glasses straps that he'd probably used for a pair of sunglasses then took Daniel's glasses from him and deftly put them on. Once he put them back on Daniel's head, he tightened the strap up a little and wondered, "How's that?"

Daniel wondered at the gentle treatment, and then realized, the shock finally getting to him, that he was a little rugrat. "Fine," he said, suddenly feeling uncomfortable and shy. To lessen his embarrassment, he got up and pulled the strings tight on the pants and tied them in a bow.

From his height in comparison to Jack's six-something feet, he deduced that he was about seven or eight years old. 'Great, just great... Now I _know_ I've finally lost it.'

"Come on, Danny," Jack said, "And don't forget this," he added, rising and pulling the second vial from one of his khaki's pockets. He gave it to Daniel, and Daniel tucked it into the short's right pocket.

"Thanks," he mumbled, and Jack smiled lopsidedly, ruffled his hair and answered, flippantly, "Anytime, kid," and they were heading back to the SGC all too soon.

- - -

**A/N:** Thanks so much _Dreamer22_ and _Kate_ for reviewing! I'm sorry about the first chapter being confusing and not like the summary suggests. (The summary was taken from a later chapter.) It was completely my fault. I probably should've posted this chapter at the same time as the first one. But I was a little tired yesterday and kind of scatter-brained like I mentioned. Thanks, _Dreamer22_, I hope u like/liked this chapter. --jinxed


	3. Chapter 3

**Warnings**: I'm crazy! What more warning do you need? Heehee. ;)

- - -

**"Alternative"**

**Chapter Three**

Jack, Teal'c and Sam were all standing on the other side of the mirror, looking different shades of shocked, worried, and/or angry. Daniel winced and turned to look up at the doppelganger one last time before going back to his own reality.

"Thanks, Jack," he said, softly.

"No problem," Jack murmured. "Take care, Daniel." His words were whispered like a pseudo-prayer.

"I will, okay?" Daniel tried to reassure the tired, broken man. "I promise."

Jack nodded, "Go on, okay? Before you make me cry." And he chuckled ruefully.

Daniel nodded, and turned back to the mirror just in time to see _his_ Jack mouth the words, "Get back here _now_," and tighten his fingers on the zat he was holding.

Daniel bit his lip, wondering how the man could put emphasis on the word when he was only lip-syncing. "Hold on," he mouthed back, however, and turned back to the other Jack one last time.

"I love you, you know?" he questioned, and threw his arms around Jack's legs.

Jack crouched and pulled him close for a moment. "Yeah, I know. I love you too, Danny. Now get..." There were tears in his eyes when he pulled away.

Daniel swallowed and turned to the mirror. He reached out and touched it, felt the disorienting transfer between realities, then turned slowly to face his friends. They looked down on him with a mix of horror and relief.

"Daniel, what the _heck_ happened to you?" Jack demanded, and then paled. "You _are_ Daniel, aren't you? 'Cause trust me, despite the glasses, it's a little hard to tell."

"It's me," he answered, wincing a little at Jack's tone. "I just took something--"

"You _took_ something?" Jack wondered, voice _that_ close to being deadly.

Sam intervened, "Sir, maybe we should have him checked out in the infirmary before we start with the explanations."

Jack glanced at her, clenched his jaw then nodded curtly. As they started down the hall, Daniel found he was having problems keeping up, especially with his shorts, which were more like half-pants on him, falling down his hips every few seconds.

"Are you well, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c wondered, and slowed his pace a bit so that Daniel could catch up. The rest of the "team" looked back and slowed down too, Sam blushing because she hadn't considered he might not be able to keep up.

"I'm okay," Daniel replied, giving Teal'c a reassuring--he hoped--half-smile.

Teal'c inclined his head in acknowledgement, but reached out, offering a supporting hand. Daniel blinked, pursed his lips, but decided to just go with it. He took his friend's hand, and held the waist-band of his shorts with the other hand.

'I am _such_ a dork,' he thought to himself, and started blushing deeply.

He glanced Jack's way before starting down the hall again, and noticed him clenching his jaw the way he did when he was very, very annoyed. He looked away quickly before the General noticed he'd been looking.

Sam smiled at him, when his eyes landed on her instead, and he grinned back tentatively. Then he stopped before it became a full-fledged smile. He tried not to smile in public too much. He hadn't ever really analyzed why, except that it was linked in his mind, somehow, with the thought of 'don't get your hopes up, and you won't be disappointed.'

She turned back around, however, seemingly satisfied that he was all right. In a little while, they got past all the SFs and Airmen and personnel that stared at him as if he were a walking, talking alien, and arrived in the SGC's infirmary.

Dr. Brightman greeted the small group and wondered of the General, "Who is the child, sir?"

"Can't you guess?" Jack answered, waspishly. She raised a brow at him, and he sighed, "It's Daniel, Brightman. See if he's okay and whatnot." He didn't have to add, "And that he's the _real_ Daniel."

So Daniel braved himself for the onslaught of tests that he knew were about to commence, and went with Brightman. The rest of SG-1 and their CO waited around on the infirmary cots. Jack stepped out for a moment to take care of some SGC business, but returned before Daniel even knew he had gone.

"Good news," Daniel told them, when he finally came back with Brightman, "I'm not an alien, and I don't have a ticking time bomb inside me. Oh, and I'm not dying either." He smiled with closedmouth cheekiness, and Sam grinned.

Teal'c murmured, "Indeed," but Jack looked rather pale. And Daniel would know, after seeing that same look on the other Jack's face only hours ago.

"I'm fine, really," he added, seriously, this time, and Brightman agreed with him, "Everything checks out, General."

"Fine. Great," Jack answered, tersely, and some of the color returned to his face.

Daniel edged closer, in between the cots where Jack, Teal'c and Sam sat facing each other--Samantha and Teal'c on one cot, and Jack opposite them. He faced Jack, and hugged himself, wondering uneasily, "So... Do I have permission to go?"

"For crying out loud, Daniel!" Jack answered, and got to his feet. "You're not a little-- You don't have to ask my permission. You know the drill."

Daniel squinted up at him, warily. "So I can go home? Just like that? I thought you wanted to know what happened?"

"Go home...?" Jack replied, sounding half-way between sarcastic and incredulous, "No, not like this. But you're free to roam around the base. And, yes, you _are_ going to explain things in very profound detail."

"Sir," Sam protested, while Daniel frowned, and pursed his lips, "Don't you think you're being..." she trailed off and then shrugged, "I mean..." she tried again, "He's just a little kid!"

Jack motioned toward Daniel sharply. "Exactly! And _why_ is he a little kid, has anyone thought to ask that?" His greying brows went up, with challenge.

Teal'c rose to his feet now, too, and stood behind Daniel, placing his hands on his shoulders. "Despite Daniel Jackson's actual age, I think it prudent that you treat him with respect, O'Neill." His tone was as calm and neutral as ever, but Daniel wondered if maybe he wasn't imagining a trace of warning beneath it.

Jack's mouth dropped open some, and he winced and stepped back as if he'd been struck. "I..." he said, then shook his head sharply. "My office, Daniel. After you've found yourself some actual clothes." He cast a critical eye over Daniel's slipping Air Force t-shirt and swimming trunks, then turned and strode away.

Daniel glared after him, and yanked up his shorts, which were falling nearly below his hip bones underneath the too long t-shirt, not taking his eyes off of Jack's retreating back the whole time.

Sam shuddered and got to her feet then. "Holy Hannah, I've never seen him like that... Well, maybe _before_, when we were first starting out, but he hasn't been like that in a _long_ time." She looked toward Daniel and wondered, "What could have brought it on?"

"Me," Daniel answered, feeling somewhere in between irritated and self-pitying.

Sam blinked and then her mouth formed a little "o." "Because you're a child again..."

Daniel didn't bother nodding. He looked up toward Teal'c and moved slightly, and the big man released his shoulders. "Thanks, Teal'c." He looked toward Samantha, "You too, Sam. I didn't mean to make you choose sides, but... thanks." He shrugged.

Sam smiled and ruffled his hair. "Don't worry about it, Daniel. Jack will get over it, and we'll be okay once we figure out how to get you back to normal." Her smile fell a bit, and she gave him a questioning frown.

Daniel ducked his head and murmured, "Yeah." He couldn't tell them yet that he already had the antidote, otherwise, they would insist that he take it. And then they would want to know how he'd gotten it, and he would have to explain the whole sordid plan.

Speaking of "sordid"...

"Uhm," he said, "Do you think I could get some clothes, anybody?"

Sam chuckled, and Teal'c raised an eyebrow, and for some reason, a memory of his time with the other Jack resurfaced:

_"Some things never change?"_

_"Or they shouldn't."_

Had his relationship with Jack changed? Had it changed for the better, or had it changed for the worse? And if it had become worse, then could Daniel make it better again, or would this stunt completely destroy their already shakey friendship?

- - -

They got him dressed then ushered him off to Jack's office. 'Or should I call him General O'Neill?' Daniel wondered, with more than a little aggravation. 'Now that he's acting the hardened military commander?'

Could he help it if he was annoyed? He was wearing some kid's hand-me-downs, which happened to be a Kermit the Frog t-shirt, green frog on basic-blue background, and some jeans that were those awful, bunch-waisted, stretchy waist-banded things. Later, when he took them off, he was going to find little lines all around the circumferance of his belly.

Scratching underneath his waistband, Daniel glared down at his cracking tennisshoes. At least the socks and underwear were almost normal. _Almost_ because the underwear were tighty-whities and featuring said frog.

"What's with Kermit the Frog, anyway?" Daniel muttered, then realized he'd said it aloud when Sam snickered. He blushed and retorted, "You wouldn't be laughing if _you_ had to wear him on your underwear."

Sam schooled her grin into something like a smug, little smile. "Sorry. I'm sure this is very hard for you."

Daniel frowned, pouting resignedly. It _was_ his own fault, after all.

Teal'c said, "Yet are these clothes not more suitable than the ones you were wearing previously?"

Sam snickered again, and Daniel threw his hands up in exasperation. "You can blame that on the other Jack. He goes and decides to turn me into a child, but does he have any proper clothes prepared for me? No!"

"So... the _General_ was the one who did this to you?" Sam questioned in surprise. "But you hugged him," she glanced at him warily but continued, "before you came through the mirror. We all saw it."

"Indeed," Teal'c backed her up.

Daniel ducked his head and mumbled, "He wasn't all bad, but I think he went a little crazy from the war... and losing you two, and me..."

"We'd _all_ died?" Sam exclaimed.

Daniel nodded, and kept watching his feet, so he didn't notice that they'd made it to the staircase that led up to the briefing room and the General's office, already. He stumbled, and Teal'c caught him just before he smacked his head on one of the metal steps.

He blinked and brushed himself off. "Thanks Teal'c."

Teal'c inclined his head. "You are welcome, Daniel Jackson."

Sam and Teal'c started to climb the stairs with him, but he turned, holding onto the handrail for safety's sake, and told them, "I'd better go up on my own... 'cause... you know?"

Sam nodded, and replied, "All right. See you soon, Danny." She grinned and winked, and he narrowed his eyes at her, which, unfortunately, made her start to smile one of those smiles she got when she was trying _not_ to laugh.

Daniel ignored her reaction and went up the stairs by himself, crossed the briefing room and paused to knock on Jack's office door. "Come in," Jack called rather grouchily from the interior, and Daniel reached up, turned the knob and went inside. He shut the door behind him, carefully, before turning.

"Hah," Jack said, and Daniel gave him an unamused, blank stare. Jack continued despite that obvious warning signal, "Were you picked on as a kid?"

"For your information, _Jack_," Daniel answered, while coming to sit in the chair in front of Jack's desk. "This was the only thing we could come up with on short notice."

Jack shrugged. "What's with the glasses straps?"

Daniel pursed his lips. "My glasses kept slipping off, so the other you used some he had lying around."

Jack's eyes narrowed. "About that... What were you doing hugging the other me? And who turned you into a little kid?"

"Uhm," Daniel began, hedging because he knew Jack wasn't going to like the sounds of what he said next. "That would be you, and I was just saying goodbye. Haven't you ever said goodbye to a friend before?"

"_He_ did this?" Jack practically roared. He got up from his seat, and came around to glare down at Daniel.

Daniel, hoping to level the playing field a bit, hopped off of the chair and glared up at Jack, stubbornly. "Yes, _he_ did. Is this an interrogation, or are you going to shut up and let me tell you what happened?"

Jack stared, mouth working silently, and then he waved a hand in a "go on" gesture. Daniel took a deep breath and breathed out the half-truth, "He lost all of us, Teal'c and Sam, and me. He was just lonely, and a little crazy, so he did this to me. But I finally convinced him to let me come home."

Jack scowled, but sat on the edge of his desk, crossing his arms over his chest and crossing one booted ankle over the other, casually. "So, basically, he was a crazy, old man, and you developed Stockholm syndrome."

"Jack!" Daniel protested, and Jack shrugged. He _was_ only talking about himself, in a way, after all. Daniel gave him a look but answered, "Yeah, basically."

Jack's frown eased a little and he asked, tentatively, "He didn't... you know... did he?"

"Know _what_?" Daniel questioned, eyes going all squinty because he was trying to decipher Jack's vague question.

"You know...?" Jack began again, then shifted uncomfortably. "Hurt you?"

"No!" Daniel exclaimed, then glared at his CO for even suggesting it. "Do you have that little faith in yourself?"

Jack went pale for the second time that day. "Daniel..." he began, voice a bit strained, "You don't know some of the things I'm capable of doing."

Was he talking about his black-ops days? Daniel wondered silently, but aloud, he disagreed, "I've seen you do some pretty heartless stuff, but that doesn't mean that you're basically evil. It just means you're human, like the rest of us."

Jack shook his head. He was thinking hard, but none of those thoughts came out in his next words, unlike with the other Jack, who said what he meant, and mostly meant what he'd said. "So, feel like going home with a heartless, old weirdo tonight?"

Daniel frowned and decided that if this was going to work, then it was possibly going to take a little while...

- - -

**Author Note:** Hey everybody:D It's me again. -rolls eyes- Well, duh, right? Who else would be writing the story? Anyway... let me not get into ghost-writing and other things that confuse me.

Thanks for reviewing guys! You're so nice! I really appreciate it, and it keeps me motivated. Have I already said that before? I'm getting deja-vu. Ah, forget my rambling. I hope ya'll enjoyed this latest chapter and there are at least two or three more to come. (I mean, that's as much as I've gotten written by now.)

-- Aw! Thanks, _Dreamer22_! But I think that summary got me into a bit of a bind 'cause now I can't change that part of the story even if I wanted to. Oh, well! It will just be more interesting trying to think my way around it. :D

-- Hey, _Amberjunk_! Heehee. I love Daniel and Jack father/son stuff too, and I will try to keep updating quickly.

-- _Fae Child19_, thanks! I hoped you liked the teams reactions, when Daniel came back. Heheh. I feel sorry for alternate reality Jack too. But then, I have fun writing him at the same time too. I hope that doesn't make me evil.

Hope to be posting again soon! --_Jinxed _


	4. Chapter 4

Ugh, lemme try for a real warnings and stuff this time. (And it'll prob'ly be the last time.):

**Disclaimer:** I don't own SG-1, but I do own my tv.

**Warnings:** PG-13 or so, really. 'Cause I'm not sure what subject matter I might decide to get into. But it will never go up to nc-17 or R.

**Season:** Seven? Eight? Somewhere around in there.

**Spoilers:** Probably, because I hardly ever write very good background. I just sorta plop ya'll into my universe and hope ya'll know what I'm talkin' about. Heh. Sorry 'bout that, btw.

- - -

**"Alternative"**

**Chapter Four**

It had barely been morning when the other Jack had sent him back through the Quantum Mirror, and it was a long, long day at the SGC for Daniel Jackson. He hung out in his office, mostly, but got annoyed when he couldn't reach certain things and went to find Teal'c, who happened to be working out.

Daniel gave up on that after he realized he could only lift the five pound weights, and decided that no one wanted to see a bulked up eight-year-old anyway.

He found Sam in her workspace, and they chatted a little bit. But then their conversation ebbed, and he decided to leave her alone to her gadgetting, when she looked up to give him a nervous smile for the hundreth time.

Jack was doing paperwork that obviously had him in a bad mood, so Daniel slipped out of there before the General even noticed him, and went back to his office.

He found his journal and decided to jott down _something_, at least, about what had happened.

_Today, I took a youth serum. It's not as funny as it sounds, _he began, awkwardly, _I never wanted to relive my childhood again, but the other--alternate reality--Jack's offer kind of made sense. He thinks it will get Jack to open up to me. Maybe he wanted Jack to tell me the same thing he was too late in telling the other Daniel..._

_"I _love_ you... I loved him,"_ the other Jack had said. Daniel couldn't bring himself to actually write it on the page. Oh, he'd known that Jack loved him, and he felt the same way. But to _say_ it to each other had always seemed...what?

Had it just never been the right time? Had it seemed too trite, or not encompassing of what their friendship really was? Had they been afraid that the other might not feel the same way or reciprocate the sentiment? Or was it just their male egos getting in the way of expressing their true feelings?

Daniel sighed and wrote, _So I'm back here, being ignored by everyone because they don't know how to treat me. It's kind of ironic. When we were first starting out, exploring the universe, going through the Stargate, Jack treated me like a little, helpless, annoying child. But now that I'm actually a child, he has no idea what to do with me._

He shut the journal in frustration and put it, and the pen he'd been using, away. He couldn't think straight; he couldn't think through all his jumbled emotions and solve the problem like he was used to doing. Maybe because it had nothing to do with puzzles or languages, but something more complicated still--his own heart.

- - -

Jack had noticed mini-Daniel peek into his office earlier, but he hadn't bothered saying hello. He'd been knee-deep in loads of paperwork, and had the headache now to prove it. Though, honestly, he couldn't completely blame the paperwork for that. He hadn't been able to concentrate due to this latest... _incident_.

Why on God's green earth had Daniel gone and gotten himself turned into a little kid? he'd asked himself over and over again. But the answer that kept turning up was, "Because he trusts me too much." And he didn't necessarily know what the implications of that simple statement were.

Maybe it was why he'd said what he had, before. _"Daniel... You don't know some of the things I'm capable of doing."_

If Daniel trusted him, then Jack could go right on hurting him... over and over again. Shaking his head, Jack rubbed his temple and got to his feet. He would go get Daniel, go home early, figure out just exactly what his friend wasn't telling him about this whole mishap...

When he got to Daniel's office, (he figured he would try there first, since it was probably where the tiny archeologist was hanging out), he found him curled up in a chair, a text book in his hands. His eyes were closed, his mouth slightly open, and his hands on the book were slack.

He looked like a dorky, little angel in his Kermit the Frog t-shirt, his Osh-Kosh jeans, and his huge glasses, with their big, stretchy black glasses straps, tied around the back of his head and making his dark-blond hair stick out every which-way.

Jack felt a pang of something and drew in a sharp, shakey breath. "Daniel... wake up," he called, softly. The little boy opened sleepy, light-blue eyes, and Jack placed what the pang was--loss.

"Time to go," he told Daniel, and smiled tightly.

Daniel mumbled something incoherent, and closed the volume and sat forward, placing it on the table. He slipped down onto the floor and looked up at Jack, still somewhat sleepy and vague, "Already...? It's only..." He looked toward the clock on the wall. "Eighteen-forty."

"And...?" Jack challenged, and Daniel blinked at him for a moment before shrugging.

"Never mind. Can we stop at the store on the way to your place? I need to get some other clothes... besides _these_," he finished disdainfully.

Jack wanted to chuckle but restrained himself. "Sure," he answered. "Let's go. Want to say goodnight to Carter and Teal'c?"

"Okay," Daniel agreed, and they left his office. Jack made sure the light was turned off and the door was closed and locked before they headed down the halls.

Carter smiled and told Daniel and Jack goodnight, then waved and continued on with her work. Jack felt the tension, and wondered if it was as stressful and disconcerting for her as it was for him to deal with this kid Daniel.

They found Teal'c in the middle of kel'no'reem. He didn't need to do it any more, thanks to the Tretonin, but he said it relaxed him.

When Daniel said, "Well, Jack and I are heading out," Teal'c smiled and nodded.

Daniel seemed to hesitate, then stepped forward, awkwardly, and reached out, putting his arms around Teal'c as far as they would go, and the big guy enveloped him in a bear hug. "Good night, Daniel Jackson," he rumbled, quietly, and Jack clenched his jaw against another unpleasant emotion.

He wouldn't even admit it to himself, but there it was, plain for all to see when he didn't bother to wish Teal'c a good night. Instead, he turned on his heal, not even waiting for Daniel to notice he was ready to leave.

"Hey!" Daniel called, and Jack glanced over his shoulder. The boy was running after him, out of Teal'c's quarters. "Wait up, Jack!" he huffed, and Jack slowed enough so that Daniel could catch up with him.

Daniel reached his side and caught his pant leg, and Jack glanced down worriedly when he noticed the archeologist's heavy wheezes. "Are you out of shape?" he wondered, caustically, and could've kicked himself. He tried to show a little concern and _that_ was what came out? God, he was the Tin Man--if he only had a heart!

Daniel cast him a tight-lipped glare, then returned to panting. "Allergies," he retorted, and Jack blinked.

"Are you sure it's not _asthma_?" Daniel sneezed to prove his point. "Never mind."

- - -

When Jack made to help him out of the passenger side of his truck, Daniel glared hard enough to give himself a headache. Jack backed off, and Daniel slid down. And for his independence, got a skinned knee.

"Are you all right, Danny?" Jack questioned, and helped him get to his feet again.

Daniel rubbed his left knee and nodded. "I'm fine. Let's go before I have nightmares about Kermit the Frog tonight."

Jack snorted, and led the way into the Wal-Mart. He kept glancing down at Daniel to make sure he was still with him, and Daniel narrowed his eyes up at the general in irritation. He wanted to say, "I'm not a little kid, Jack. I can take care of myself," however... his present condition might have belied those words.

In the store, Daniel was overwhelmed with a feeling of shyness. It felt like everyone was staring at him, suddenly, and he hugged himself and kept looking away from stares and polite smiles alike.

When he bumped into Jack's legs, he realized he'd been staring at his grungy tennishoes fixedly. Jack turned and looked down at him then murmured, "We're in the boys' clothes department, now, Danny."

Daniel glanced around at the racks of clothing and winced. "Uhm," he said, "Can you... go somewhere else while I shop?"

Jack looked uncomfortable but answered, "I can't, Daniel. If I left you here by yourself, something could happen to you. _You_ know that."

Daniel jutted his chin out, petulantly. "I'm old enough to take care of myself." Which was actually code for, "I'm really a grown-up, don't you think this is unnecessary?"

"Are you really embarrassed enough about buying a package of underwear that you'd risk being kidnapped?" Jack snapped at him, and then glanced around guiltily.

A mother, shopping for her son no doubt, cast him a censurous glance. Daniel blushed, and Jack winced and looked away. "No, okay? Do what I tell you, for once, okay, Daniel?"

Daniel, unexpectedly, felt tears prick his eyes and a lump form in his throat. "That's unfair..." he mumbled, and stared down at his feet. Jack groaned, and Daniel looked up in surprise, to see him rubbing a hand over his hair.

"I'm sorry, Danny," he said, and placed a hand on Daniel's shoulder and squeezed gently. "Can we just get your stuff now? I promise not to look at which underwear you pick out."

Daniel felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth and nodded. "Don't worry about it, though."

He suddenly didn't feel so self-conscious any more, and wondered what had caused the drastic drop in his self-esteem in the first place. Was it simply the hormone fluctuations of a child, or was it because he was feeling displaced and helpless?

He resolved to just forget about the stares. Besides, maybe he and Jack would work things out sooner rather than later, and Daniel could just go ahead and take the antidote.

A thought occurred to him then, as he browsed through some _decent _jeans. What if the other Jack hadn't really given him the antidote? What if it was just a fake? But then, what reason would he have to do something like that? But Daniel told himself not to jump to conclusions... He would just have to wait and see.

- - -

**A/N and other stuff:** Hey everyone! How cool--more reviews! -huge grin- But I've got a question before I reply to those. Anyone know if Teal'c switched to tretonin by this time? I _think_ he did, but I haven't seen the show in awhile. I'll fix it if I got it wrong, not that it's that big a deal--but just 'cause it bugs me. Heh.

Now for the thankees!

Heh, thanks _Dreamer22_! I decided that it was okay. I haven't gotten very far with the plot by this time...I don't think... Never mind. The coffee I'm drinking hasn't kicked in yet. :D

_shinyblueportal_! That's a neat name. In fact, I like everybody's nicknames! (Sorry, it's the coffee. -looks shifty- Plus the coke I drank right before _that_.) I like little Daniel's too. Heehee. Daniel is cute anyway, but make him a little kid and whooee!

Hmmm, you give me evil ideas, _Fae Child19. -_taps her fingers together like an evil dude- Thanks about the reactions and the outfit. Made it from my own warped mind... heheh. Ew, that sounded kinda creepy. -nervous giggle- I donno... I think I will have to write something now to explain why he said that. Heh, thanks for pointing it out!

Thanks again, everybody! --_jinxed_.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** Of course I don't own SG-1, and I doubt anyone would pay me for this even if it were legal.

**A/N:** I think I'm going to Hades for this chapter... or is that the next chapter? Yep, definitely the next one. And probably this one too. ;)

- - -**  
**

**"Alternative"  
**

**Chapter Five**

Jack wasn't surprised that Daniel was so tired that he could fall asleep on the drive back to his house. He'd probably been stressing all day long about who knows what. Jack decided to go ahead and take the day off tomorrow. He would leave Carter or somebody in charge at the SGC and keep Daniel company.

What could they do together that would be fun? Fishing...? Nah, Daniel probably wouldn't go for that. He was a bit young to enjoy--

Jack's thoughts stopped mid-sentence, and he frowned as he lifted Daniel from the passenger seat and carried him inside. He'd been thinking of Daniel as a child, hadn't he?

Why was it that Jack had to take in every stray kid that came along? What instinct caused him to want to gather them up under his wing and protect the life out of them? Was it all because he'd lost Charlie, or was he really just a lonely, old weirdo like he'd told Daniel, jokingly?

Wincing, Jack laid Daniel on the couch and turned to flip on a lamp. When he turned back, Daniel was blinking at him through his smudged lenses, blearily. "Danny?"

He approached, sitting on the edge of the couch beside his kid-archeologist. "You never told me why your Daniel was a shell," Daniel mumbled, and for a moment, Jack actually thought he'd heard him wrong.

"A shell?" he wondered, and Daniel blinked and his hazed-over eyes became clear.

"Jack?" he asked, groggily.

"Yeah, Danny? Were you sleep-talking?" Jack returned, affectionately.

Daniel sat up, quickly, and pushed back into the arm of the sofa behind him. "No... I... never mind."

Jack touched his shoulder, tentatively, but Daniel flinched. "Are you all right?" he questioned, concerned now.

"I'm fine," Daniel snapped, and it sounded weird being spoken in that youthful voice.

Jack clenched his jaw for a moment, trying to think how to proceed. Finally he said, "You said something about the other Daniel being a shell. What did you mean?"

Daniel stared at his lap, and wrapped his arms around himself. "The other Daniel didn't ascend. Ja--He wouldn't tell me why, just that he'd lost... his passion or something like that."

Jack thought about it, and tried not to wince at his own conclusions. Was it what he'd seen in Daniel lately? That lack of a certain spark, or just _something_ that was missing? But he couldn't voice those doubts aloud to Daniel. So instead, he cupped the boy's cheek and brought his face up so that he was looking at him... a little warily, but still, it was something.

"You haven't become a shell, Daniel," he told him, gently. "Maybe... Maybe you've just been through so much, that... that this is how you're dealing with it."

But Daniel must have read the doubt in his eyes because he jerked his face away. "You wouldn't have said it like that if you didn't wonder about it yourself," he said, glaring at Jack stubbornly.

Jack wanted to take him seriously at that moment, but Daniel just looked so cute, with his pouty face and his dorky glasses. He was still wearing the hand-me-downs, too, and Jack had a feeling Kermit the Frog was going to be a swear word to the linguist from then on. Maybe he would even burn the clothes after taking them off...

Unfortunately, the moment he thought it, Jack felt like smiling. It tugged at his lips, and Daniel's eyes widened in outrage when he saw it. "You're laughing at me!" he exclaimed, and then punched Jack in the chest.

Despite his size, Daniel had some good muscles on him still for a seven-year-old kid. And Jack rubbed the spot and murmured, "Ouch. I'm sorry, okay? I wasn't laughing at what you said... I just sort of zoned ou--"

Daniel's eyes widened even further, his mouth dropping open and working soundlessly for a second or two. And then he scooted back and grabbed the arm of the couch, and stood up on the cushions. He was a bit taller than Jack that way, and the General pulled back a bit wondering how deep he'd managed to dig himself this time.

"I was talking about becoming a shell of who I was, and you were _zoning out_?" the indomitable tyke demanded. "What do I have to do to get you to pay attention to me? Because it seems like the only time you care is when I'm in trouble or _dying_!"

Jack's breath left him in a sharp gust, and Daniel's mouth dropped open once again, and his blue eyes suddenly teared up behind the soft reflection of his lenses. "You know that isn't true, Daniel," Jack told him, softly, and surprised himself by how hurt he sounded.

Daniel sniffled, and started to cry. "Then... why does... it always... seem like you... only want to... touch me... or... hold me... when I'm hurt?" he questioned, brokenly, his sobs keeping him from saying it all in one rush like he was used to.

Jack clenched his jaw and told himself not to react with anger to those accusations. Daniel was definitely not himself right now, as his present crying jag demonstrated. "Daniel," he began, then tried to curb the exasperation in his tone, "We're both guys--_men_. What do you expect me to do the rest of the time that you're not sick, or hurt, or dying?"

It looked like he'd failed miserably. Daniel sobbed harder and exclaimed, "I don't know! But couldn't... you... pat me... on the back? Or... something? Tell me... you... ap- ap- appreciate... me... or some...thing?"

Now Jack winced. He'd definitely failed at doing those things more often than not. All Daniel was asking for now was affirmation of their friendship, wasn't he? It wasn't like he was saying that he wanted their relationship to be something that it _couldn't_ be.

Sighing, he reached out, carefully, for the sobbing child, and drew him into a hug. Daniel resisted a bit, maybe out of anger or justifiable hurt, and Jack had to wonder if maybe part of the reason he _didn't_ pat Daniel on the back every now and then was because the man held himself so aloof. Even now, he didn't return the embrace--jealousy noted that he'd had no problem hugging Teal'c. He'd even initiated the contact...

"Shh, Danny," Jack murmured, "You're right. I could try a little harder. I _will_ try harder. It's okay... It's gonna be okay."

Daniel pulled away the moment he'd gotten himself under control and started to wipe at his face with the bottom of his Kermit shirt, and Jack clenched his jaw. There it was again--he was pushing _Jack_ away, not the other way around. But right then, Jack didn't think it wise to open up that can of worms. He would just wait until Daniel was more himself... and then he would broach the issue.

Or... he would just forget about it and let it go. Maybe if he kept reaching out like Daniel wanted, the archeologist would reach back eventually.

Jack forced a smile. "Come on Danny. I'll make us some supper, and then you can burn those clothes you're wearing and put on the jammies we got you."

"Don't call them 'jammies,'" Daniel groused, as he hopped off the couch and followed Jack out of the living room. "You make me sound like a little..." he trailed off.

Jack smirked over his shoulder at the boy, and wondered, innocently, "A little what?"

Daniel ducked his head and retorted, "Forget it. Just don't talk down to me like that again. I may be short," he continued, looking up at Jack defiantly, "But that just means I can reach certain things better." His narrowed eyes traveled downward, and Jack's own widened.

"Never mind then, Daniel," he answered, and tried not to make it obvious that he was swallowing very hard.

- - -

Daniel woke up in the middle of the night but couldn't figure out where he was. The room he was in felt large and dark and smothering all at once, and he was afraid to pull away the covers to get out of the bed and turn on the light... wherever it was.

His breath was coming too quickly, and his heart was pounding a march in his chest. He'd been dreaming of his parents, which was rather odd because he hadn't dreamed of them in a long time. Actually, now that he was a little more calm and awake, he figured he hadn't _exactly_ been dreaming of the time his parents had died, but the time he'd been trapped in an alien virtual reality, watching them die over and over again and not being able to do a thing to stop it.

A sob caught in his throat with his next breath, and Daniel covered his mouth in surprise. He sounded young... too young... And then he realized--he wasn't an adult anymore. The Jack from another reality had convinced him to become a child again for the sake of his relationship with Jack.

And maybe that hadn't been the only reason, Daniel contemplated. He'd been so hung up on the fact that his own Daniel had lost his... joy in life, or whatever... Maybe he had some ulterior motive besides helping Jack and Daniel through their relationship issues.

The door cracked open, and Daniel snatched his blanket up to his chin and scooted back against the headboard, his heart beating faster once again. The light came on, and he squinted at Jack, who was standing in t-shirt and boxers, his hand still on the light switch.

His white-silver hair was sticking up all over the place, and he had a pillow crease on his right cheek. "Danny?" he questioned, groggily. "Are you all right? I thought I heard... I don't know," he continued, coming in and sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Something woke me up, and I thought maybe it was crying...?"

Daniel swallowed, and then burst into tears. But he stayed glued to his spot at the top of the bed, holding his arms around his own knees and rocking a bit. He needed to calm down, he told himself. He couldn't let Jack see him like this--so out of control and--

"Daniel?" Jack questioned, and reached out, pulling Daniel near and into a warm, comforting hug. "It's okay... Tell me what's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

Daniel sniffled and nodded against Jack's chest. He tried to pull away, now that he wasn't sobbing hysterically anymore, but Jack wouldn't let him go. "Hey, talk to me, okay?" he urged, only letting Daniel pull back far enough so that he could look down into his face.

"My parents..." Daniel began, and that was about all Jack needed to know.

"Ah, Danny, I'm sorry," he murmured, then pulled him back into the enveloping fold of his arms. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked after another moment.

Daniel drew back again, and this time, Jack let him. He looked up, and searched Jack's face. He was getting older, Daniel thought with a strange, fearful clenching in his gut. "I couldn't help them..." he said, almost whispering. "They just kept dying, over and over again... and I..." His breath caught for a moment. "I couldn't do anything."

Jack gazed at him, steadily, then took his chin and asked, "You know you couldn't have, right? It wasn't your fault that they died, Daniel."

He pulled in a shakey breath, but shook his head. "What about Sha're? What about all the others? What about _them_, Jack?"

Jack blinked and dropped his hand, and Daniel felt very alone, suddenly. "You never stopped trying to help everyone, Daniel," he said, his tone tense. "You can't take the weight of the world on your shoulders, you know?"

"Sha're was my responsibility," Daniel retorted, and then he winced. Had that been _all_ she was? A responsibility? After all that time of searching for her, had the love fallen away to leave behind only guilt and a sense of duty?

Jack seemed to sense what was going through his mind because he shook his head, and replied, adamantly, "You loved her, Daniel. To the last moments, and even now. You did everything you could to save her, and it just wasn't enough because that's just how life is sometimes. You can't keep blaming yourself for every bad thing that happens."

Daniel's eyes pricked with tears, and he stared down at his lap. "I'm sorry, Jack," he mumbled, "I'm being such a... such a baby. I never think about anyone but myself..." Here he was complaining about all his woes, and he'd forgotten that Jack had lost his only son, and then a wife soon after, although that was to divorce.

Jack snorted. "Don't say that, Danny." He crooked a finger under Daniel's chin, tilting it up so that he would look at Jack again. "I've gotten used to looking after you."

Daniel's mouth dropped open, and he just sat there, his breath completely taken away. What in the world did _that_ mean? And the way Jack had _said_ it--so gently and full of... love.

"I-I..." he stammered, "O-Okay," he finished, not knowing how else to respond.

Jack gave him a rueful half-smile. "Think you can get back to sleep now? Or you want to come sleep in my bed?"

Daniel truely stared this time. "I-In _your_ bed? Why would I--? Jack, that's just-- You don't mean--?" He gave up, "Huh?"

The general chuckled and replied, "I mean if you're scared to be by yourself, but I guess that just went _way_ over your head, didn't it?"

Daniel scowled. "That's not funny. I'm not a little kid, and I already told you not to act condescending with me."

"Anyway," Jack answered, rising abruptly, "The offer's still open. If you don't want to be alone, you don't have to be." And he slipped out of the room without a second glance.

Daniel stared after him, then crawled out of the bed to turn off the light. But he paused, his hand resting on the wall. Here he'd been complaining to Jack about not giving him attention, and now Jack was offering him more than a pat on the back, and he'd refused him...

Maybe... Maybe he should take the second step, Daniel thought, and reached up again, turning off the light switch. But instead of turning to go back to bed, he left the guest room heading down the hall after Jack.

- - -

**A/N: **I think this is the most plotless story I've ever written, but never mind that. I'm just a bit on the waspish side today. (Not enough sleep, yet again.)

Thanks _Dreamer22_, and _Harm Marie_ for encouragement and compliments! Everyone is so sweet! I feel undeserving... :D

_Fae Child19_! Heheh... Nope, hope you weren't counting on the romantic love, but yes for the friendship, and... -looks secretive- You'll have to wait and see for the parental/child. (But you can probably already guess just by me saying that much. LOL.) And by the next chapter, I think... -squishes one eye shut in thought- you should see one of the outfits Daniel picked out. And thanks for reviewin of course!

Aw, shucks, thank u, _Amberjunk_! -blushes- I hope this chapter had enough smarm, etc. enough for you to get satisfactorily high! Not that I condone that... ;)

Thanks again, everyone! --_jinxed_


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I don't own SG-1; I'm not getting money for writing this.

**Warnings:** I'm probably still going to Hades. And who the heck is Philip D. Morehead? -possibly has A.D.D.-

**- - - **

**"Alternative"**

**Chapter Six**

Jack got into bed and tried not to feel like he was a complete failure. He had a job--a very _good_ job--and he had friends--the lifetime kind--yet... just because he didn't have any children, or a wife to call his own, he felt like somehow he was... less than, or something.

Sighing, he lay back against his pillow and stared at the ceiling. That was probably why he didn't notice Daniel coming into the room until the weight on the bed shifted. "Hi," his friend said, and Jack sat up quickly and flipped on the lamp.

Daniel sat in his blue-striped pj's, blinking at Jack worriedly. "You said I could come right?" He looked rumpled and innocent, squinting up at Jack as if he wasn't sure if he should stay or run.

Jack offered him a welcoming smile. "Of course. Make yourself comfortable." He reached back and turned off the light.

He forced himself to lay back, and felt Daniel shifting around until he found a comfortable position. "Comfortable?" he asked into the darkness, when the small breathing next to him slowed down some.

Daniel replied, "Yes... Are you?"

"Sure," Jack answered, and the silence stretched for a longer space.

"My toes are cold," Daniel said, and Jack wasn't sure how to respond to that, and then suddenly he just let out a loud guffaw.

"I'm serious!" Daniel protested, but there was a note of humor in his slightly stuffy-nosed, childlike voice. There was wiggling around, and suddenly Jack found a pair of cold feet tucking themselves underneath his bare legs.

"Hey!" he yelped, and Daniel snickered.

"That's what you get for laughing."

Silence.

Jack decided to play rough. He grabbed ahold of Daniel's feet and started tickling. Daniel screeched--yes, actually _screeched_--and started giggling hysterically. "_Jack_! Stop it! Stop!" He tried to escape, but Jack transferred the tickling to his stomach area. "_Stop!_"

And then--

"Ouch!" Jack laughed, and stopped tickling Daniel, then tried to catch his breath. Daniel panted, and smacked Jack a second time, this time with a fist, on the arm.

"Jerk," he muttered, goodnaturedly. Jack could tell that he wasn't really angry. In fact, he was pretty sure Daniel had been enjoying the attention more than he wanted to admit.

Rubbing the spot on his chest, where Daniel had reflexively kicked him, Jack replied, "Sorry... I was trying to make your feet warmer. Did it work?"

Daniel tugged the covers up to his chin as he answered, "Not quite." And he replaced his feet underneath Jack's legs, this time snuggling up against Jack's side as he did so.

Jack was about to protest the proximity, then realized Daniel had gone too quiet. "You little punk..." he murmured, laying back against his pillow with a thunk. "You fell asleep, didn't you?" But it was a contented sigh that escaped his lips, as he found Daniel's head in the dark and ruffled the soft, golden locks.

- - -

Daniel woke up with the morning light, and realized Jack fully intended to sleep in. In fact, he was still snoring away, a soft, comforting noise in the morning stillness.

So Daniel slipped out of the bed, used the bathroom, then found the new clothes he and Jack had purchased the night before. He picked out a plaid, long-sleeved shirt, and some khaki, cargo pants, remembering to transfer the antidote from underneath the guest pillow to the pants he was wearing.

After he'd gotten through getting dressed, he dug out the new sneakers Jack had insisted on buying him, from their box, breathed in the new-shoe smell and put them on after clipping off the tags.

He hadn't found a pair of scissors--go figure that Jack wouldn't be sensible enough to have a pair of scissors lying around--but he _had_ found a pocket knife. He was using it to remove all the little, plastic tag thingies.

He sat on the couch, going through the clothes and taking the tags off. He wondered if Jack would be upset if he found Daniel--a little kid--messing with a pocket knife, and snorted softly to himself. And that brought him around to wondering why he'd decided to bunk with Jack the night before.

Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea, he contemplated, after a rush of doubt and embarrasment flooded in. In body, he was a child, but mentally, he was already in his thirties. Even if the tickling could be explained away as a friendship thing, he wasn't sure that he could so easily dismiss the way he'd tucked his feet under Jack's bristley legs and promtly gone to sleep.

Blushing, Daniel ran an unsteady hand over his hair, mussing it up even further than sleep had already made it. He didn't want to be, but he was already panicking. Rising from the couch, he set aside the pocket knife, not bothering to try to close the thing. He might slice off a finger, he decided.

And then he paced toward the entry to the living room, stared out into the foyer, paced back to the couch, stared at the clothes. He bit his lip, and folded them all neatly, as his mind rushed through his fears and options.

_He_ knew that he didn't have feelings--the romantic sort--for Jack O'Neill, but did _Jack_ know that? And if he didn't...? Did _he_ have feelings for Daniel? Was _that_ why he'd had to ask the question: _"He didn't... you know... did he?"_

He'd been talking about the alternate reality Jack hurting Daniel, but Daniel had never quite decided what he'd meant. Had he possibly thought...? No, it was too horrible to think about. But... what if he _had_ thought that?

Daniel's eyes widened, and some facts came together in his mind, insidiously pointing out that maybe that was the reason the other Jack might have had in giving him a dud anitidote. But _had_ he given Daniel a fake antidote? He could only find out if he took the thing, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to take it yet. He knew that he and Jack still had their issues to work out... especially _now_.

So what should he do? Daniel strode--as much as a seven-year-old _could_ stride--back to the entryway, and then decided. He needed to think things through, and he couldn't do that _here_, with Jack hovering over him every waking second...

- - -

Jack stared at the neatly folded clothes on his sofa, and clenched his jaw.

He'd woken up that morning happy... And Jack O'Neill was rarely happy, but now Daniel was gone, and all that happiness had just been sucked out of him, leaving a huge hole that seemed awfully familiar, and this sick, angry feeling deep in his chest.

Where the _heck_ had Daniel gone, and why hadn't he left a note or anything behind? And what had made him think he could just walk out there, looking like _that_, and without any adult supervision or any sort of safety? He hadn't even taken the pocket knife he'd obviously been using to take the tags off of his new clothes.

Jack clenched his fists and unclenched them, went back in his room and got dressed and shaved and ready to figure out where the heck his errant, stubborn, _kid_ archeologist had wandered off to.

When he left the house, he was practically fuming. He was so angry, he thought he might actually be at risk for a heartattack. When he found Daniel, he wasn't quite sure what he was going to do with the--the--

"Selfish, inconsiderate, stubborn, bullheaded," Jack muttered, his fingernails digging into the steering wheel of his truck. "Complicated, self-absorbed, intellectual... _brat_..."

He wasn't sure what he was going to do, but he vowed to himself, furiously, Daniel was _not_ going to get off easy.

- - -

Daniel walked, and walked, and thought, and thought... but by the time he reached a deserted park, he wasn't any closer to a solution. His feet were hurting now, and he realized he had neglected to eat that morning.

Besides that, his new shoes were giving him blisters, and he kept sneezing because apparently, turning into a little kid had wiped out the effects of his last anitihistimine dose. And he hadn't taken anymore since he'd gotten back from the other reality.

Sitting on a merry-go-round, by himself, Daniel stared out at the dreary day and wondered why no kids were around. 'Oh, yeah... it's a weekday.'

Taking out the antidote, he stared at the orangey contents and wondered if he should just go ahead and take it. It would certainly answer a lot of questions like--

Did the antidote work? But then, he probably shouldn't take it right _then_ because if it _did_ work, he'd be in a bind... almost literally, considering his clothes would be too small for him to fit in, and might just strangle him if they didn't rip easily. And he would wake up, naked, and without quick access to more clothes--something he'd already been through once before, and didn't feel like repeating anytime soon.

Daniel held onto one of the merry-go-round's metal bars and moved the merry-go-round from side to side, idly, using his feet to push. Now that he wasn't so panicked, he could admit that he'd acted a bit rashly... well, more than a bit.

Out of all the years he'd known Jack, he'd never detected the slightest bit of... wrongness in the way that he dealt with children. So why should it be any different with Daniel? Even if, and he wasn't saying that he did, but even _if_ Jack had feelings for Daniel as an adult, that spoke _against_ turning him into a child, rather than for it.

So that left him with one question--_did_ Jack have romantic feelings for him?

Daniel's first reaction to that was nausea, but then he forced himself to think back. Feelings...? Yes, there were definitely _feelings_ there, but--

They weren't the types of feelings that would lead to anything more than a hug and a shared beer... or cola. Daniel sighed, and kicked himself mentally for even thinking such a thing. But he _had_ been panicked. And he _had_ had reason to wonder...

And that led him back to the question: Why had Jack been so worried? Was it just because he didn't think of the other Jack as himself, but another person altogether? Maybe... But Daniel couldn't just overlook it.

Shaking his head at himself, he rose to leave the park and return to Jack's place. And froze.

There was Jack, striding toward him from the curb, his jaw set, his walk stiff... his hands clenched at his side. 'Uh, oh,' was Daniel's first thought, and he actually glanced around, searching for a line of escape.

But somehow, he remained standing, one hand on a bar of the merry-go-round. "Daniel Jackson," Jack began, darkly, when he finally reached Daniel. "What the heck do you think you're doing?"

Daniel tried for innocent. "Standing here, talking to you...?"

Jack took another step toward him, and the look on his face was such that Daniel pulled back. Jack stopped, his jaw working. Finally he said, "Just because nothing happened to you, doesn't mean nothing _could_ have. What _reason_ did you have to go haring off like that?" he demanded.

Daniel wanted to shrug but decided it was a bad idea. Jack was _that_ close to snapping, and if Daniel just pushed one inch farther he was probably going to find out _firsthand_ what he'd meant earlier.

"I was..." he began, and his voice cracked a bit. "I was afraid," he said, and rushed on when Jack went pale. "It was stupid, but I had to get out--to think, okay? Please don't be angry with me, Jack. I just had to clear my head. I didn't mean to worry you--" Jack's jaw clenched once again, and Daniel corrected, hurriedly, "Frighten you. But I was so freaked out, I just wasn't thinking straight."

Jack clenched and unclenched his fists, and Daniel kept his eyes on them, worriedly. "Okay," Jack said, and Daniel blinked up at his face.

"_Okay?_" he asked, voice going up so high, it squeaked a little.

"Okay," Jack repeated, "You want to come back home now?"

Daniel nodded, hesitantly. Jack didn't seem as angry as before, but he was holding himself so... tightly, that Daniel wasn't certain _what_ emotions were exploding behind those dark eyes of his.

Jack murmured more gently, "Come on, let's get out of here," and held out his hand.

Daniel bit his lip, but took it and followed beside him, bumping into his leg every now and then, as they made their way to the truck, parked rather badly, Daniel noted, on the curb.

- - -

**A/N: **See the last chapter I'm posting this time for notes. Thanks.


	7. Chapter 7

**Warnings: **Hm... Yes, definitely still pg-13. **:3  
**

**- - - **

**"Alternative"**

**Chapter Seven**

"Jack...?" Daniel questioned, warily, once they had made it back to the house. He sat on the couch, and waited until Jack joined him. But Jack sat in his armchair instead, and Daniel wrapped his hands around himself for the loss. "Why would you be afraid that... that the other you would... 'you know'?"

Jack actually flinched. "You feel like a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich, Daniel?" he questioned, and started to rise.

Daniel frowned, pursing his lips in annoyance. "Don't change the subject. Something's bothering you about this whole thing. Could you just tell me what it is, so we can deal with it?"

Jack frowned, but sat back down. "Speaking about things that we need to talk about--you never really told me what happened with the other me. You were pretty vague."

Daniel shrugged. "There's nothing to tell. He didn't hurt me, he wanted me to come with him. I took a chance, and then he sent me back here."

"Why would you hug a guy who forced you to become a little kid again?" Jack pointed out, sharply.

"Why would you think yourself capable of hurting a child?" Daniel shot back.

They stared at each other, sitting in silence for about a minute or so, and then they both tried to speak at the same time:

"Danny, I--"

"I don't under--"

Jack chuckled, and Daniel sighed. "You go first," he ordered, and Jack raised a brow.

"I don't think that, Daniel. But when it comes to you, it's hard to say what I can and can't do. Daniel, I shot _Skaara_ for you. I treated you like crap because I was afraid of losing you, but I was just losing you in a different way. I told Jacob to _stop_ for you..." His voice went hoarse, but he cleared his throat and went on after a moment, "I can't imagine what I would do if I lost you, and then I had a chance to get you back. I might even hurt you to get you to stay with me. Do you understand that--_Can_ you understand that, Daniel?"

Daniel, shocked into forgetting what he'd been about to ask, stared at Jack, his mouth opening and shutting uselessly. He'd been afraid that the other Jack would do something to hurt him just in order to have Daniel back in his life, even if Daniel didn't want to stay with him. No _wonder_ he'd asked that question, and no wonder he was acting all wound up and like the hard-wad colonel that he'd once been.

"Oh," Daniel finally got out, and Jack winced but chuckled ruefully. Finally, Daniel recovered his wits and told him, "He didn't, Jack. I promise. I... I... " He wanted to tell him right then the reasons the other Jack had for changing him into a child, but he held back, still. "There's some stuff," he continued, and left the couch to stand at Jack's knee, "That we need to work out. And I can't tell you everything that he told me until we do. Do you trust me?"

He looked up into Jack's dark eyes, carefully, placing his hands on his friend's lap and hoping he wasn't stepping over invisible lines again. Would he be embarrassed about doing it later, or would he finally figure out why he _needed_ to do it now?

Jack looked thoughtfully back at him, then reached out, lifted Daniel onto his lap and held him loosely. "You know I do."

- - -

Daniel smiled that quirky, half-grin he got sometimes, but it looked so adorable on a little boy's face, that Jack just had to squeeze him tighter. Daniel "oofed" but leaned his head against Jack's chest.

After a few seconds though, he groused, "Can I get some air, now, Jack?"

Jack murmured, "Oh, sorry," and let go. Daniel grinned, just a bit, and slid off his lap.

"So," Jack wondered, "Feel like PB and J?"

Daniel whapped him good-naturedly on the leg as he rose. "Stop treating me like a little kid," he complained.

"But you _are_ a little kid," Jack returned, archly. "And anyway, does that mean you actually don't _want_ peanut butter and jelly?"

Daniel groaned. "I'll take it over the mildewed thing growing in your refrigerator right now."

"I resent that remark," Jack answered, as they made their way into the kitchen. "There is nothing _growing_ in my--" he opened the door, his eyes went round, and he quickly shut it. "Fridge," he finished, a bit too quickly, and Daniel smirked.

"Peanut butter and jelly it is," Jack told his friend with a grin.

Daniel only nodded, knowingly.

- - -

Daniel burst into tears for about the fourth time now since he'd become a child. He wasn't sure why exactly, just that he'd stubbed his toe on the bottom of the door. Jack came rushing into the bedroom and questioned, worriedly, as he scooped Daniel up and into his arms, "What happened? Are you all right?"

Daniel sniffled and wiped his face. "I j-just... my toe..." he replied, rather vaguely.

Jack was silent, and Daniel got the feeling he was being laughed at. "It hurts..." he added, plaintively, and Jack remained quiet still.

Daniel brushed off the last of his tears and looked up. Jack wasn't smiling, however. He actually looked pretty worried. "Daniel... I didn't really think about it until now, but you've been crying at little stuff lately. Haven't you noticed?"

"Uhm," Daniel answered, blinking. "Yeah, I have, now that you mention it." He was talking like a rational adult, but in the meantime, he'd leaned back against Jack's chest, feeling its reassuring rise and fall as the general breathed in and out.

"Aren't you worried?" Jack wondered.

"No..." Daniel said, then yawned, sleepily. "Jack... I think we're okay now, aren't we?"

"Yeah, Daniel," Jack assured him, gently, and Daniel drifted off completely.

Jack smiled down into his friend's innocent face, laid him back on the bed then removed his glasses, and situated him underneath the blankets. They'd gone over to the SGC that day to visit Teal'c and Sam. Daniel had insisted that he was getting sick of Jack, but Jack thought maybe the SGC was a bit too big for little Daniel to take in. He was pretty tired by the time they made it back late that evening, and Jack had barely gotten the pouty archeologist to eat his supper.

So it hadn't come as much of a suprise to him, when he'd run off to Jack's bedroom and promtly stubbed his toe on the door. Although, how he'd managed to do that, Jack was probably never going to figure out.

He smiled to himself and smoothed Daniel's mussed hair away from his forehead.

"Yeah, Danny," he repeated, "We're okay..."

- - -

Daniel woke up with the sun like he'd done the day before, and vaguely recalled what he'd told Jack last night. That he believed that they'd pretty much worked out their problems. He hadn't said it in so many words, but he thought Jack had probably understood.

'Did we though?' Daniel wondered, as he removed the antidote from his pants' pocket. Jack had let him sleep in the clothes he'd worn yesterday. He stared at the red-orange liquid in its little, plastic vial, and wondered if he was doing the right thing.

He stood in the bathroom, the door locked just in case Jack woke up and tried to come in without checking to see if Daniel was in there first. He glanced at the door, then, pursing his lips and thinking hard.

Jack hadn't told Daniel he loved him in so many words, but he'd pretty much _shown_ Daniel that in the gentle and caring way he treated him. The other Jack had definitely been counting on Jack's weakness for children, Daniel realized, as he recalled him saying, _"And I know of only one thing that can get him to reach out to you in the way that you need right now."_

But was that it? Or would Jack return to treating him in the usual, distant but friendly manner as before, once Daniel became an adult again?

Daniel stared at the vial in his hand, then set it on the counter. For a moment, he thought about getting one of Jack's t-shirt's from his room beforehand, but then he just went ahead and got undressed. He unscrewed the black, plastic top of the vial, squinted in anticipation, and threw back the liquid in one gulp.

- - -

"Daniel?" Jack questioned, groggily. He yawned and knocked on the bathroom door again, but there was still no answer, and he was suddenly wide-awake.

"Daniel!" he called, and started to pound. A million things flashed through his mind. Maybe Daniel had tried to take a shower, slipped and hit his head on something, or something about becoming a kid again had gone wrong, and now he was sick and dying... or it hadn't really been his allergies like he'd claimed, and he'd had an asthma attack... and all this with the door locked and... and...

Jack broke the door down.

"Dan--" As he moved the door out of the way, his mouth dropped open and the name died on his lips. Daniel was face-first on the bathroom tiles, naked, an empty vial near his right hand, and--

"Oh, crap," Jack said, and then knelt, checking for a pulse. He seemed fine, just unconscious. But just to be sure, Jack checked for any bumps on his head. Nope, he was just out...

Jack clenched his jaw, got back up, his knees cracking in protest, and hurried to get Daniel some clothes. He wasn't sure how he was going to tell his friend this, but he was going to have to figure _something_ out. Otherwise, Daniel was going to see himself in the mirror and completely... well, _would_ he?

No, he probably would. That wasn't even a question. He was going to look in the mirror, and he was going to completely lose it. Because... the problem was, Daniel must have had the antidote the whole time, but he'd had no way of knowing how _far_ it was going to age him.

By the time he got back to the bathroom, Daniel was already stirring. He tried to sit up and Jack exclaimed, "Whoa, there, kiddo. Don't get up just yet!" He grabbed a towel from off a hook and handed it down to Daniel, who looked up at him blearily, and grasped it.

He sat up, carefully, using the towel to hide his lower half. Then he got up, with Jack's assitance, and wrapped the thing around himself. "Daniel... before you look in the mirror," Jack began, quickly before Daniel could turn in that direction, "Why don't you go to the bedroom and put these on?"

He handed Daniel the clothes he'd gathered, and Daniel took them, eyes narrowed, suspiciously. "Jack?" he questioned, and something in his blue eyes flickered. "Right..." he said, not arguing now.

Jack backed out of the way, trying not to run into the door, which was now hanging off of its hinges, thanks to his earlier display of manliness. He had a feeling as he watched Daniel head toward his bedroom, that he already had guessed what had happened. Jack only hoped that Daniel wasn't going to react as badly to this as he was anticipating.

- - -

**A/N:** Okay, -sheepishly- I have to confess... I was holding out on you guys. And hopefully, these two chapters (that I'd already written) will clarify any uneasy emotions about whether this is a slash fic or not. I suppose I should've put that in my summary like I usually do? I'm working on chapter eight right now, (not literally, I can't type two things at once!), so if you have suggestions, make them quick. And thanks for all the reviews, nice reviewerees!

Aw, yeah, that's how I see it, too, _Heather_--"Danny can always use more hugs." Thanks for reviewing! How did Jack do? I hope I'm not writing them too much OOC. -grimace-

Er, no slash for this writer, _AT Fan_. (I've sworn off.) And it _definitely_ would be "kinda weird." If you get any of those sorts of vibes, it's probably because I used to be _really_ into slash fanfic. But, alas, I am slowly reforming. Aw, thanks about it being cute! Ew, I hadn't noticed I was being that... whadyoucallit? Uh, wishy-washy with my characterization of little Daniel. He's _supposed_ to be behaving as a hormonal child, with the mind of an adult. Hold on, if you will, and maybe I will be able to explain it better within the story. Thanks!

--_jinxed_


	8. Chapter 8

**Warnings: **Hmm... -thinks about it- Nope. Except to warn you away from reading any of my writing, of course.** :D  
**

**- - - **

**"Alternative"**

**Chapter Eight**

Daniel winced, remembering how his voice had sounded just a moment ago, when he'd said Jack's name. He was done putting on the sweatpants and t-shirt Jack had handed him earlier. And while he'd been dressing, he'd been able to come to his own conclusions about what Jack already knew from his own thin frame.

He hadn't gone completely back to normal, as he'd been suspecting he wouldn't all this time. But he hadn't even _considered_ that this might happen. He'd only thought that the antidote might not work at all. But this... this was just...

He grabbed his glasses from the nighstand by Jack's bed, and took off the straps, and slid them on, grateful that they wouldn't be falling off anymore. He couldn't tell how old he was now without looking in a mirror, and that's what Jack was trying to avoid having him do before he could warn him. But when Daniel came out of the bedroom, hugging himself, and found Jack hovering just outside, he requested, "Just let me go ahead and look, Jack."

Jack winced, but nodded. "All right... This isn't over though, Daniel. We'll just find the right reality, get that jerk," he rolled his eyes at himself. "Get _me_ to give you more antidote, and everything will be fine."

"Sure, Jack," Daniel murmured, as he maneuvered around the broken door to the guest bathroom and stopped in front of the mirror over the sink.

He was himself... at around seventeen or eighteen, maybe a few years older, but there was no telling really. He sighed and looked away from the taunting quirk of his own lips. "You're right," he said, and Jack blinked. "You are a jerk."

Jack frowned. "I liked you better as a little rugrat."

Daniel glared now. "I didn't _ask_ for this, Jack. You--The other you, _did_ this to me. He _convinced_ me that it would be best, but I'm thinking he didn't count on you needing me to stay a little child indefinitely for you to keep treating me with respect."

"Is that what you think?" Jack exploded.

Daniel waved his hands around, emphatically. "I don't need to _think_ it, Jack! It's obvious. I turn into a boy, and you're the most gentle, compassionate father a kid could ask for. But I get a little older, not even a real _adult_ yet, and suddenly, you forget to show me a little consideration!"

Jack's eyes were wide, now, and Daniel's words rang in his own ears. He covered his mouth before Jack could even ask it. "Father...? Danny... You really think of me that way?"

Daniel dropped his hand, biting his lip, and ducking his head so that his chin practically touched his chest. "I didn't mean it that way..." he mumbled. But he _had_, hadn't he? He was just afraid to admit it, in case Jack didn't feel the same way.

Because if he told him, and Jack _didn't_ feel the same way, then Daniel didn't know if he could take it. It would almost be like the whole relationship had been a lie, as if he had been thinking all this time that Jack felt the same way, but he really hadn't. He would feel like a fool...

Jack touched his arm, startling him into jerking his head up. Dark eyes met his, and Jack said, clearly, cautiously, "Because if you felt that way, Daniel... I could tell you why I _do_ still care about you, even if you _are_ almost an adult."

Daniel swallowed. "Why?" He was more than a little nervous to hear Jack's explanation, even though he wasn't even going to consider that it had something to do with lust-love again.

Jack dropped his hand and stepped away some, probably reading Daniel's obvious discomfort. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the doorjamb, and Daniel felt a wave of _deja-vu_ for a moment. "Because... You're my best-friend first of all, Daniel," Jack began.

"But you're my conscience, and my hope for the future... And I think of you as my son, but it's deeper than that, even. And Daniel?"

Daniel's eyes found Jack's again, since they'd been wandering away in embarrassment and disbelief. "Yeah...?"

"I love you."

- - -

Jack bit his lip after the words came out, almost as if they'd been jumping up and down inside of him all this time, waiting for the chance, the moment that Jack would let down his guard and just... open his mouth.

Daniel stared at him, eyes wide, mouth agape. He looked so much younger than Jack remembered him even looking when he'd first joined the stargate team. He was somewhere in between seventeen and twenty-one, and Jack had completely expected him to be upset. But he'd only looked at himself in the mirror and told Jack, snappishly, _"You're right. You are a jerk."_

He'd meant the other Jack and him at the same time, implying that it was all _their_ doing for turning him into a near-teenager instead of an adult. Jack had shot back his retort, without thinking, and it had inadvertently wounded Daniel more than he could have anticipated.

So now he was here, promising things he wasn't sure if he could follow through with...

"I..." Daniel said, voice cracking a bit. He hugged his chest, and Jack noticed how thin his arms were, and how lanky he was. Daniel was tall even at seventeen, or whatever the heck age he was now. He was nearly as tall as Jack, whereas before, he'd pretty much matched up.

"I love you too," he finally got out. "But that... doesn't mean we don't have things to work out. I kept this from you, but the other you wanted to help us. He thought if I was a little kid, you'd be able to say or do what you needed to improve things between us."

Jack's eyes narrowed in reaction. "The manipulative jerk," he muttered. Daniel tried to supress his grin.

"He must have planned this," Daniel admitted, "Although, I don't understand the reasoning behind it."

Jack chewed on the inside of his cheek, but kept his thoughts to himself. Daniel wasn't back to the way he'd been before, and maybe that was what Jack's altar ego had planned. Daniel had said that he'd told him something about his own Daniel becoming apathetic.

What if--and it was more than a little weird trying to pick his own brain--what if he'd thought that by making Daniel a younger age, that he might regain some of his lost innocence and passion? It was a little warped, but what if it worked? As evidenced by Daniel's bouts of tears, as a child, he was subject to his own developing hormones. He wasn't nearly so vulnerable anymore as a near-adult, but what if some of his body and brain were still developing enough that he could... in a way, start over?

If that were actually fact, tempting though it was to leave Daniel this way, Jack knew that he was going to search for the Other's reality and see if they could fix this. He owed it to Daniel...

"Don't worry about it, Danny," he said, finally, grasping Daniel's boney shoulder. "I'll get you back to normal just as soon as we find my evil twin."

Daniel blinked for a couple seconds, and then he chuckled. Jack raised a brow in query, and Daniel laughed harder. "Wanna let me in on the joke?" he wondered, feeling a bit discomfited.

Daniel got ahold of himself. "You wouldn't understand," he answered, standing there, grinning from ear to ear.

- - -

Sam said that she wasn't sure if she could find the right reality, but they could try. Daniel tried not to be upset about it, but it was a bit frustrating.

He'd figured the other Jack had been a little off, but why he'd done _this_, Daniel just couldn't wrap his head around. He had offered to make Daniel a small child to soften Jack's heart toward him, but then he'd given Daniel an antidote to turn him back into an adult.

Daniel had _taken_ the antidote, but he hadn't turned into an adult, he'd turned into a pre-adult. What motivation was behind _that_ turn of events? Had he thought that maybe Daniel still needed more time, known perhaps that Daniel would go ahead and take the antidote before things were truly worked out? Or had Jack truly meant for him to remain this way until he grew older?

Sam was scanning through scene after scene in the picture, when finally, Daniel's pacing halted abruptly and he called out to her, "There! Go back," And she glanced over her shoulder at him and switched the scene a couple realities back.

The other Jack--Daniel was almost _positive_ it was the other Jack--stood on the other side of the mirror, gazing expectantly at them. Daniel turned to Jack, who was sprawled by a wall, next to Teal'c, playing with one of those paddles that had the rubber ball attached.

"I'm going through, Jack," he said, and Jack stood up, using Teal'c's shoulder as leverage.

"By yourself?" he questioned, warningly, and Daniel could only nod.

Jack stared at him for a moment then finally relented, "All right. Be careful."

Daniel smiled at Sam, nervously, and she gave him an encouraging smile in return, before he reached out and touched the quantum mirror.

On the other side, he turned and faced the other Jack, and he smiled at Daniel, tentatively. "Hey, Daniel," he said, and Daniel asked, "Why did you do this?"

Jack flinched, glanced through the mirror at Daniel's rightful reality, and replied, "Can we talk over here? I don't like the idea of them watching us."

Daniel frowned but acquiesced, going off to the side, out of the range of the mirror. "Why did you only give me enough of the antidote to become like this?"

"I did it because I wanted you to see what you were becoming," Jack answered, his tone much darker than what Daniel remembered it from the last time. "Before you--_he_ died, Daniel had lost so much of his innocence that he killed an unarmed enemy, without even blinking. I wanted to give some of that lost innocence back to you before _your_ case escalated beyond redemption."

Daniel's mouth dropped open. "You mean, you did this to teach me a _lesson_?"

Jack shrugged, but his expression was pained. "I did it because I _broke_ him, Danny," he answered. "Do you know what some of my nightmares are _really_ about, Daniel? You, killing me, without a second thought, without flinching--you pull the trigger. You always just..." the double covered his eyes with one hand, and his shoulders shook for a moment.

Finally, he seemed to get control of himself, and he looked back up at Daniel's shocked face. "I don't have any more of the antidote, Daniel," Jack said, and hunched his shoulders, shoving his hands in the pockets of his khakis. Daniel realized, absently, that Jack was wearing the same clothes as he'd been wearing the last time.

Daniel questioned, incredulously, "You really _did_ lose your mind, didn't you?"

The double couldn't seem to meet his eyes. "I lost _you_, Danny."

Daniel swallowed, but could only nod, and he wasn't even sure if he was doing that. Somehow, he felt all numb inside, dried out, drained. "I'm going back now," he said, quietly, almost challengingly, and Jack finally looked up at him again.

He gnawed on the inside of his cheek for a moment then said, "All right, Daniel. I--I'm _sorry_..." Daniel winced, not expecting the bare anguish he saw in this Jack's eyes.

"For what it's worth," he said, reaching out to touch the man's arm, "I don't think he would have blamed you. I--_He_ had to change, to adapt in order to survive. If anything, you _helped_ him do that." He swallowed. "And it won't turn out the same this time. I promise you that, Jack. I'm not going to whither away inside and get myself killed."

Jack nodded, slowly, and Daniel dropped his hand. "I've got to go now," he said, but it came out a whisper.

Daniel turned to go back through the mirror, but Jack called to him, "Wait, Daniel. I could... I could find more. They must have more in Area 51... I could sneak in--"

"No," Daniel said, firmly, "I... I'm taking this as a second chance. I think maybe I understand why you did this. And thank you." He offered Jack a smile, one that he would never have shown anyone else, all bared and open, and full of hope...

Jack's eyes widened, his mouth coming open a little bit. "No," he said, his voice hoarse with emotion, "Thank _you_, Daniel."

- - -

**A/N:** Thanks for reviewing, _Harm Marie_, _Dreamer22_, _Fae Child19_, and _Amberjunk_! As requested, I will try to make this odd, little story as long as I possibly can. Heh. Which means, the plot is going to change a wee bit. I'm open to all sorts of suggestions now, er, you know what I mean.

Thanks, _Amberjunk_! I hadn't even realized I'd done that, exactly. I mean, I noticed while I was writing it because I remember thinking, "I wonder what Daniel's middle name is?" But I wasn't necessarily going through all the logistics of parents doing that when they're calling their children, although, I'm sure it _was_ at the back of my mind.

Heheh, _Dreamer22_, yeah, sorry about that. (Not really sorry, as I'm sure you can tell ** :3**)But I really _hadn't_ finished writing this chapter yet. Hope you like it by the way.

Thank you for reviewing all the new chapters, _Fae Child19_, it made me chuckle. And I'm glad you liked them! And thought the explanation actually made sense cuz, honestly, I pretty much just fly by the seat of my pants... whatever that expression means.

I guess ya'll don't mind about Daniel going from little kid to teenager? To me, it seems a little bit... badfic, I guess. But I'm just doing it for fun and to see how the story turns out. It's bad, but when I write, I usually don't plot things beforehand, which can get me into trouble with writer's block and stuff. But I kind of avoid figuring things out ahead of time, because I'll get bored and won't continue writing. -chagrine- Don't ask me why cuz I got no clue.

Thanks again, everybody! --_jinxedklutz_


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** I don't own SG-1, or am making money from writing this. It's just for fun... although, I do get a little obsessed about it. ;)**  
**

**Warnings:** Nope, nothing... I think this chapter is even PG, not PG-13. Although, I did take artistic liberties in one place. Does that count?**  
**

**- - - **

**"Alternative"**

**Chapter Nine**

Jack was half-hoping that when Daniel reappeared through the mirror, that he would be his regular age again. The _other_ part of him wanted Daniel to stay a kid. However, even before Daniel turned around to face his friends, Jack could tell that nothing was different.

Except that Daniel's pale eyes were misty, and there was the ghost of a smile lingering on his lips. "Daniel?" Carter beat him to asking, and Daniel glanced over his shoulder into the mirror, but the other Jack didn't look to be anywhere around. So Daniel looked back toward them, and winced, shrugging helplessly.

"He didn't have any more of it," he said, and his voice came out rather husky, as if he had been or was trying not to cry. "Before you say anything," he aimed more at Jack then the other two, "He wanted to go find some, but I told him not to."

"But _why_, Daniel?" Carter exclaimed, and Teal'c's brow was up, asking the same thing, silently.

"It's kind of hard to explain," Daniel replied, hugging himself. He'd changed into jeans before coming with Jack to the SGC, but he was still wearing the same t-shirt, and Jack could see that the fine-colored hair on his arms was standing on end from goosebumps.

Sighing, Jack tucked the handle of his ping-pong paddle into his pocket and reached out to take Daniel's arm. "Come on, we'll talk about it later. Let's just make sure all of this changing back and forth hasn't affected you first."

"The infirmary?" Daniel groused, pouting deliberately.

"Daniel," Carter said, sounding a tad aggravated, "The General is right. Just because there were no adverse effects the first time, doesn't mean excessive use of that serum couldn't be affecting you negatively."

Daniel frowned at her as she switched off the mirror device with its controller, but she only stared him down. He sighed and looked down at his sneakered feet. They were Jack's sneakers, and he hadn't really been that surprised that Daniel's feet nearly fit them.

"Fine... _Mom_," Daniel retorted, before Carter could place the controller back in storage. And she froze, glancing over her shoulder at him, sharply.

"What?" he asked, and Teal'c volunteered, "Perhaps Colonel Carter is disturbed by your address of her. 'Mom' is a familiar term for one's mother, is it not?"

Daniel blinked, glanced at Jack, sideways, then back to Sam, who was just straightening from putting the controller away. "Uhm... You know what I meant, right?"

"Oh, I know you were being _sarcastic_," Sam retorted, and he winced.

"Kids, _kids_," Jack finally intervened, his amusement with the scene waning, "Let's get Daniel to the infirmary and then discuss who's his mama later."

"Jack, that's not funn--" Daniel retorted, as he walked along beside him down the hallway.

Teal'c and Carter followed after them, and Jack wondered, "Hm?"

"Jack," Daniel growled, finally yanking his arm away, and waving his hands emphatically, "Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. Just because you insist on giving everyone else a false impression of your intelligence and attention-level, doesn't mean you've put one over on _me_."

"Ah, Danny," Jack answered, grinning in an over-exaggerated way, "It's good to have you back."

Daniel narrowed his eyes at Jack, but Jack only gazed back innocently and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, guiding him along down the hall.

- - -

Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter, genius, astrophysisist, _and_ intrepid worm-hole explorer, was a little bit confused and worried. Her friend, Doctor Daniel Jackson, had pretty much decided that he wanted to remain a teenager--in effect, to grow up all over again.

That wasn't what was nagging at her though--Daniel hadn't had a very good childhood, his parents had died when he was about eight, and he'd been sent to foster homes and had gone from one to another until he was old enough to be on his own, which, she'd always figured had been pretty young, since Daniel was a genius anyway.

So _why_ would he want to stay a teenager, given the choice to return to his normal age? Sam was sure that given even a _slim_ chance, he would want to take it. That's why she was wondering if maybe there was something wrong, something deeper that he couldn't just come out and say.

So as she sat next to him on the infirmary bed, listening to him and Jack argue about whether he was still going to be working at the SGC now, she waited for a lag in the conversation and then blurted out her concerns.

"Daniel, are you _okay_?" she questioned, and he looked over at her, nervously, mouth dropped open a bit.

His face was still basically the same shape, but it was a little slimmer, and there were no traces of fine-colored stubble or age lines. If it weren't for the depth of wisdom and personality in his light-blue eyes, she would have thought him just an ordinary, slightly gullible youth of seventeen.

"What do you mean?" he asked quickly, then sent furtive glances across the aisle between the two cots to Jack and Teal'c, who sat next to each other.

"I _mean_," Sam answered, tightly, "That I don't get why you would choose to stay this way, especially when the other O'Neill offered to go get more of the serum for you."

Daniel winced and glared down at his lap. "I _told_ you, already, Sam... I just can't really explain it that well."

"Well," Sam said, slowly, "I think maybe you should _try_."

Daniel looked back up, glaring, and Sam could tell he'd reached his patience limit. He wasn't going to answer her now, out of pure, bullheaded stubborness.

So she threw up her hands and exclaimed, "Look, Daniel, I'm sorry that I'm being intrusive, but I think _someone_ should be asking this." She glared at Jack, pointedly, and he gave her a "Who me?" look and shrugged his shoulders. Teal'c raised a brow and gave Jack a circumspect glance. Sam shook her head at them both and went on, "It's not exactly _healthy_ to want to become a child again."

Daniel laughed--actually laughed--albeit sarcastically. "You think I'm sick or something?" he demanded. "Because I _dare_ you to call Doctor McKensie, Samantha, I really do." He'd gotten to his feet, and was now standing there, glaring down at her, his arms wrapped around himself like he was trying to hold his heart in.

Sam got up too, just to make sure he knew she wasn't in the least intimidated by him. "You know I wouldn't do that," she told him, flatly. "I'm just worried."

Daniel glared at her. Sam glared back.

"Daniel, Carter," Jack interrupted, "Forget that for now, all right? I'd like to get a few other things straightened out first. Like whether Daniel is going to stay on his own or not until he's older."

"Of course I'm staying on my own," Daniel began at the same time that Sam stated, "I don't think there's much of a point of him going through the process of getting emancipated, when he's hardly at home, anyway."

Daniel pouted at her, and Jack's mouth dropped open a bit. But Teal'c broke the stalemate, "Colonel Carter's reasoning is not flawed. Daniel Jackson would be offworld for the most part, so it would be unecessary for legal papers to be manufactured."

"I agree," Jack answered, with superfluous aplomb. Sam refrained from rolling her eyes.

Daniel retorted, "You _would_..." But it was so quiet that Sam wasn't sure she'd heard what she had.

"So it's agreed?" she wondered, and Daniel reluctantly nodded.

"I guess I'll have to stay with one of you guys," he murmured, then actually blushed.

Sam wondered if he was embarrassed about having to rely on them. Jack volunteered, "And that would be me." But Daniel bristled, and turned on him, scowling angrily.

"Why do you just assume that I'm going to be staying with you?" Jack blinked and straightened a bit.

"I thought we were good, Danny," he began, uncertainly, and Daniel looked even more unnerved.

He waved his hands in a fluttering, frustrated manner as he rebutted, "We're still working things out, Jack! You can't go expecting me to just go along with whatever you say, like I don't even know my own mind anymore. I'm going with Sam."

She made a small, surprised noise, and Daniel blushed even more and looked toward her from underneath his long, golden lashes. "I mean... uhm, if you don't mind, Sam...?" he rephrased.

She smiled, and thought, 'It would certainly give me time to get to the bottom of all this.' But aloud she answered, "No, of course not, Daniel. I'd be glad to have you. As long as you pick up after yourself, that is," she added, teasingly.

Daniel started to protest, and then a smile caught his lips and he ducked his head. "Thanks..."

Jack made a grumbling sound, in the meantime, and wondered of Teal'c, "Wanna go shoot some hoops, big guy? Now that Danny's done with his 'routine' physical, and we have all the arrangements worked out?" He shot Daniel an accusatory glance, and Daniel pursed his full, bow-shaped lips at the general in obvious irritation at his ploy.

Sam would have been tempted to smile, if she wasn't so disturbed by the undercurrents going back and forth between the two of them. There was definitely something going on, and so help her, she was going to get to the bottom of it... even if... Daniel never forgave her.

Because she could stand to lose his friendship. But if this was more serious than she thought, she didn't think she could stand to lose _him_.

- - -

**A/N:** Hi, ya'll! Did you miss me? I sure missed you guys, but I had some stuff that kept me busy over the weekend. And yesterday, I was finishing up this chapter and getting started on the next. Hope you liked this chap, even though it was sadly boring and short. And thanks for the reviews!

_Fae Child19_, hey! Thanks! I'm glad you can actually understand anything I've written. Heheh. Yeah, that would be amusing. Hopefully, I'm being halfway realistic about how Daniel and Jack are repairing their friendship. So it might fluctuate a little bit, but at this point, they're mostly all right.

-_Jinxed_ knocks _Amberjunk_ out cold- Heheheh. Just kidding. Thank you for all of that bubbly excitement. It's infectious, and it helped me come up with a few ideas for the next chapters.

Thanks for reviewing _Harm Marie_, _Dreamer22_, and _shinyblueportal_! It's much appreciated!

--_jinxedklutz _


	10. Chapter 10

**Rating:** PG**  
**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own SG-1; no profit.

**Spoilers:** Probably; I think.**  
**

**- - - **

**"Alternative"**

**Chapter Ten**

By the time he left the SGC with Sam, Daniel was very, very annoyed and tired. All he wanted was to get some of his clothes from his place, and crash for the night. Sam agreed to take him there, and as he gathered a few of his things into a dufflebag, she wondered, as she stood in the doorway to his bedroom, "So... are you going to tell me what the heck is really behind this decision, Daniel?"

"Huh?" he feigned ignorance as he stuffed some socks into the the top of his Air Force dufflebag.

He saw that she was narrowing her eyes the next time he glanced up at her, as he made his way back to his dresser to get a few more articles of clothing. "You know exactly what I mean, Daniel."

"Why do you always have to act like the overprotective big sister with me?" he demanded, peevishly, as he grabbed a few t-shirts, brought them back to the dufflebag and stuffed them in with asperity.

He zipped the top of the dufflebag shut on her next words, "Because half the time, I don't think you use the sense God gave you!"

Daniel winced and slung the dufflebag over one shoulder. "Do too," he groused, and her annoyed expression changed to amusement.

"Oh, Daniel... what have you gotten yourself into _this_ time?" she asked him, with rhetorical fondness. She advanced, and reached out, pulling him into an awkward hug.

He bit his lip and watched her, warily as she drew away again. She shook her head and murmured, "Come on, Danny Jackson. Or else I'm grounding you for a month... or something."

"Oh, hah-hah," Daniel retorted, but followed her out. He just barely remembered to lock his front door behind them.

He'd never been irresponsible as a teenager, but growing up had made him lose some of his absentminded carelessness. Maybe something about being this age again had brought it back, he hypothesized.

"What are you thinking about?" Sam wondered, once they were already on their way, and he'd been staring out the car window for minutes now.

He looked toward her, taking in her shy smile and how she only glanced at him, keeping most of her attention focused on her driving. "I... was thinking about how my hormones were driving me up a wall when I was a seven-year-old. And now I'm okay, but I can't seem to stop being such a brat, and back at the house, I almost forgot to lock the door. I used to be pretty absent minded back when I was this age. Sometimes, I didn't even remember to put socks on with my shoes."

She giggled, and he blushed and glared at his lap. "Oh, Daniel," she said, quickly, "I'm sorry. I wasn't laughing at you. I'm sure everybody has been like that once or twice in their life. And it probably _is_ still your hormones. It's scientifically proven that teenagers need more sleep than adults. So maybe you're forgetfulness is just due to a little sleep deprivation."

Daniel smiled sideways at her, and she grinned back. "Sometimes I forget how smart you are," he offered.

She frowned, and he tried to correct his _faux pas_, "Because you're fun to be around and you're pretty--" Ah, crap.

"So, because I'm _beautiful_, you forget I'm intelligent?" Sam said, and he tried to backtrack.

"I didn't mean it like that, Sam," he told her, and then he noticed the wicked smile she was trying to hide. "You're teasing me, aren't you?" he wondered, blushing from ear to cheekbones.

"Oh, yeah," she answered.

"You know," he teased back, "I said 'pretty,' not 'beautiful.'"

Sam glanced at him then back to the road. A moment later, she exclaimed, "Hey!" and smacked his arm.

Daniel chuckled before he could stop the laughter from escaping.

- - -

Almost as soon as they walked through the front door to Sam's house, the phone rang. Daniel glanced at her sideways before laying his dufflebag beside the couch. "Guess who?" he told her, sarcastically.

Sam frowned a little and told him, "It could be Pete, you know? I _do_ have a life outside of the SGC."

"Ouch," Daniel said, grimacing a bit before he dropped down into the couch.

She didn't have time to reply to that because she'd already pressed the CALL button. "Hello?" she questioned into the phone, and, as expected, it was the general.

"Carter, did you and Danny get back safe?"

"_Yes_, sir," she told him, as if she were having to remind a little child to wipe their shoes before entering the house. "And we're both exhausted, so would you mind if I went ahead and let you go?"

"Let me go?" Jack asked, sounding a tad alarmed.

"It's an expression," Sam replied, and the vestiges of a memory tickled the corners of her mind.

"Oh, yeah," Jack replied quickly, "Of course. Can I tell him 'good night,' at least?"

Sam wondered, as she shifted her weight, tilted her head and placed a hand on her hip, "Why are you being more affectionate now that Daniel is a teenager?"

Daniel's brows went up, and she winced and looked away from him, pretending she hadn't seen. "Would you rather I yelled at him like I did when I was still freaking out?"

"Nooo," Sam drug it out. "But I'm just curious--has something changed between the two of you, recently?"

"Sam!" Daniel protested, about the same time that Jack retorted, "I'm not sure that's any of your business, Carter."

Sam bit her lip before jutting her chin out and replying, "You're right, sir. Good night, and here's Daniel." She handed the phone over to Daniel before Jack could respond, and stood there, watching her teenage friend.

"What'd'you want, Jack?" Daniel wondered, as he put the phone to his ear.

Sam could faintly hear Jack respond, "Just to make sure you're doin' all right, and to wish you good night. Is that a crime?"

"Yes, it is," Daniel said, but there was a half-grin sneaking onto his lips. "I'm fine, and good night."

"'Night, Danny," she heard, and Daniel quickly pulled the phone away from his ear and pushed the OFF button. He held the phone out to her, and she could tell he was pleased, even if he chose to act annoyed with their mother-henning CO.

"Everything okay?" she wondered, and couldn't hide the fact that she was teasing him.

Daniel pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes, and she giggled and replaced the phone in it's cradle. "I have a guest room... nobody uses it really, but you can stay there from now on. Unless you've changed your mind about moving into the general's?"

"Nope," Daniel replied, as he rose, grabbed his dufflebag and followed her deeper into the house.

"I'm making supper, but don't be surprised by my lack of culinary skills. I'm tired, and we're having a tv dinner."

"Better than peanutbutter and jelly three meals straight," Daniel shot back.

"Oh, my," Sam said, "And here I was under the impression that Jack barbecued, as well."

"He does, but I think I was distracting him from worrying over meals too much. And I have to admit, it was only _two_ meals of PB and J."

Sam chuckled, and watched as Daniel dropped his dufflebag on the floor, beside the bed. "I'll go get some sheets and a blanket," she told him.

When she got back, he offered as he took the sheets from her, "I can make the bed." He was avoiding her gaze again, and blushing too, and she wondered again how he was dealing with this turn of events.

"Daniel..." she began, as he started unfurling sheets and tucking them into the bed. He glanced at her once, but went back to what he was doing. "I don't want to bring up bad memories but... I don't remember you ever telling me you had a _good_ childhood. Why would you choose to stay this way, given any other option?"

He paused in his bed-making, and watched her guardedly, his mouth slightly open in mild surprise. "Sam, you don't know what's been going through my head these past few months..." He sat down, and wrapped his arms around his chest. "Right before the other Jack came through the quantum mirror to get me, I was mindlessly cataloguing artifacts, just to avoid actually _thinking_ about anything.

"And the thing I think I've been avoiding is that I _lost_ something along the way. I don't know what exactly. Maybe my innocence, maybe my sense of wonder, or my passion... But I just woke up one day, and it was gone. And there I was, lost, and not wanting to see it." He was avoiding her gaze, choosing to stare at the floor instead.

Sam managed to finally get her mouth closed and only opened it again to ask, "You really felt that way?"

Daniel looked up at her, a pained smile flitting about the corner of his lip. "Yes, and worse."

"So you... chose to stay a child because of it?" Sam questioned, feeling rather confused.

"No, not because of it," Daniel answered, sharply, "Because I couldn't fix it. I tried, but things just weren't the same, and I didn't know where they had gone wrong. And Jack--the other Jack--seemed to think it would help. I just... I took a chance. I chose to trust him. And once I'd done it the first time, I couldn't help but do it again. Maybe he was lonely and out of his mind, but so what?" He watched her, wretchedness in every line of his body. "I am too."

Sam chuckled. She couldn't help it. It was so sad, and ironic and... and... "Okay, Daniel. I want you to be happy. I think you're a little bit crazy, too. But I feel less worried now. You think this will help, and maybe it has. I haven't talked to you like this in a long time. If anything, it's helped you to open up to me... and to Jack too?"

Daniel nodded, and wondered, "You noticed that?"

"Uhm," she began, "How could I _not_? He's called you 'Danny' at least three times today, and he actually called to tell you 'good night.' I figured _something_ must have happened for him to do that."

It was Daniel's turn to laugh--well, snort, actually. "Yeah... You won't try to get me to see a psychiatrist?"

Sam frowned at him. "Daniel, I already told you I will _not_ put you through that again. And you're fine, anyway. If we keep talking like this," she finished on a teasing note, "You'll be completely sane before we know it."

Daniel blinked and then reached over and grabbed a pillow. Even before she saw the wicked twinkle in his eye, she started backing out of the room. "_'Night_, Dan_iel_," she singsonged, and the pillow came flying out of the doorway.

"Good _night_, Sa_mantha_," Daniel called back, and she giggled.

- - -

**Just in case you didn't know:**

French expressions used in past chapters:

_joie de vivre_: joy of life; enthusiasm.

_deja vu_: already seen.

_faux pas:_ a false step.

(definitions from **The New American Roget's College Thesaurus**_, In Dictionary Form, Revised Edition Prepared by Philip D. Morehead_.)

**A/N:** Another slow chapter, guys. Sorry about this. It's because I had to build up to what I want to do next. Hopefully, ya'll are not anti-Sam/Jack-shippers. :D

And thanks for the review, _Dreamer22_. Why the look? Heheheh. Yes, poor Daniel. My version of Samantha teases him _far_ too much. Heehee. --_jinxed._


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: **Unh... what am I supposed to say here? Oh, yeah--SG-1 does not belong to me, and I profit nothing from this story. Except if you count how happy I get when someone reviews. :D

**Rating:** PG-13, or PG, depending on your own tolerance levels, or whatnot.

**Warnings:** This is the next to the last chapter. :( Sorry guys!**  
**

**- - - **

**"Alternative"**

**Chapter Eleven**

Jack called the next morning to circumspectly check up on Daniel, with the excuse that he was giving him and Sam the day off.

Daniel grimaced when she told him, "snarkily," "I appreciate that, especially since you left the SGC under my command without a moment's notice just the other day."

A couple minutes later, Daniel said hello to Jack, and then hung up after they'd established that they were still okay. Even though he refused Jack's offer to stay at his house for the second time. For some reason, he just didn't think it was a great idea. At least, not for the time being.

"I'll clean for you or something, Sam," Daniel offered over his bowl of cereal. "That way, you can have the day to yourself."

She looked across the table at him and questioned, "Are you feeling a little guilty?"

"No," Daniel said, but it came out sounding a bit too dubious. "Okay, maybe a little," he answered to her skeptical look. "Like you said, you had to deal with running the SGC the other day just because I was having a... midlife crisis."

She snickered. "It's all right," she told him, "I did fine... although, I'm not exactly sure how Jack does it. Meanwhile, you don't have to clean the hou--"

The phone rang, and Sam blinked. "That better not be the general again," she muttered.

Daniel hid his smile, and Sam answered the phone. "Carter," she said, cheerfully, and then a moment later, "Pete!"

Daniel blinked, and pretended to be paying sole attention to his cereal. "_Actually_," Sam said, after a moment of smiling silently as she listened, "I've got the day off today, so you can take me out tonight, if you want."

Her tone was _way_ too flirtatious and playful for Daniel's peace of mind, and suddenly he was feeling very cross. Wasn't she in love with Jack? He'd certainly sensed a lot of tension between the two of them before, not to mention quite a lot of unspoken things that went over his head but he understood as meaning, "We love each other, but can't be together for several reasons."

So why was she still with this Pete guy? Not that Daniel thought she should wait around forever until Jack got his act straight. Just... it almost felt like a betrayal on her part.

"All right, I'll see you then," Sam told Pete and hung up the phone. She was still smiling as she turned back from replacing it on the hook. "You'll be okay alone at the house tonight, right?"

"Sam..." Daniel began, feeling like he was being a nosy brat, yet unable to just drop it. "I know you're going out with Pete... but... _why?_ Aren't you... I don't know," he ducked his head, but looked back up at her, unblinkingly, "In love with Jack?"

"_What?_" she asked him, and his mouth dropped open. Then she sighed and said, "Maybe, at one point, I might have had feelings for him and _vice versa_, but now, I'm with Pete. I'm over it... whatever _it_ was." She sounded completely confident, but Daniel thought maybe the lady was protesting too much.

"You sure about that?" he returned, and she frowned at him.

"How 'bout we get that cleaning started?" she questioned, just to irritate him, no doubt.

Daniel narrowed his eyes but told her, "Fine, Sam. Whatever. Avoid the subject all you want to, but eventually, you and Jack--you're going to have to face the music."

"Ya think?" she returned sarcastically, then winced at the expression she'd picked up from the general himself. "Look," she continued, "I don't want to fight with you about this. Can we just have fun today? Because by tomorrow, you and I, and the rest of the team are probably going to be trying to get back to business as usual. Even though," and here she gave him a blinding stare, "I think that's a very _bad_ idea because of what's happened to you."

"Sam," Daniel began, but she held up her palm, facing toward him.

"Never mind. Fun, remember? It's what teenagers usually like to do," she said, "And since you _are_ a teenager now..."

Daniel scowled, and Sam giggled. "Fine."

"So what do you want to do?" she asked him, and he nibbled on his bottom lip. "You have _no_ idea what fun is, do you, Daniel?" she wondered.

"Hah, hah," Daniel retorted sarcastically, "Let's go walking."

Sam blinked. "Daniel," she said, sadly, "That's not fun, that's excercise."

"Walking _is_ recreational to me," he told her, and she chuckled.

"Okay, let's go walking. Who knows, maybe you'll see a cute girl, get her number..." She winked at him, and he gave her a blank stare. "Oh, come on, Daniel, lighten up a bit!"

"I would if you'd quit teasing me mercilessly," he said, dryly.

She chuckled and nodded. "Okay, come on, you crazy rebel, you! Let's go _walking_!"

Daniel narrowed his eyes and shook his head, but secretly, this was the most fun he'd had in awhile, just kicking back with Sam, letting her tease the heck out of him. Who knows, maybe things would work out with all of this... After all, things were _already_ shaping up between him and Jack. Things could only get better... right?

- - -

They'd taken their walk, and come home and tidied up the place a bit. Well, _Sam_ had tidied up, while Daniel was _forced_ to sit and watch the TV while she cleaned and washed and cooked. He felt thoroughly lazy, and couldn't wait to get back to the SGC so that he could do some researching and translating again.

Around six o'clock, the doorbell rang, and Daniel called to Sam, who was right about then, getting dressed for her date, "I'll get it!"

Sam came running out of her room, calling, "Wait, Danie--!" But Daniel had already opened the door to Pete's harmless, slightly dopey face.

Pete's smile fell, and the flowers he was holding practically wilted, but then Sam showed up behind Daniel's shoulder, and he smiled uncertainly at her. "Hey, Sam!"

"Pete, this is Daniel. I'm babysi--"

"Sam!" Daniel protested, and she continued, "Taking care of him for a friend. I'm already ready. Daniel, you're sure you're going to be okay by your--"

"Sam!" Daniel interrupted yet again, glaring at her.

"Right," she finished, and grinned in Pete's direction uncomfortably. "For me?" she asked, and reached out for the flowers. He nodded and gave them to her, and she took them and sniffed, then grabbed her coat and was gone.

Daniel pursed his lips as he watched the couple heading down the sidewalk to Pete's car. Sighing, he shut the door, and turned to the empty house behind him.

'Great, what am I going to do now...? I'm _already_ bored!'

"I guess I could call Jack," he murmured aloud, and started grinning a bit. He smothered the smile in seriousness and headed to get the phone.

- - -

Sam was having _so_ much fun with Pete...

Up until the time she got home and invited him inside for coffee. And that was when things started going downhill. Daniel was there, certainly, but she'd expected him to excuse himself politely to the guest room if she brought Pete home.

Instead, she found him in the living room, watching rentals with General O'Neill--Jack. "Daniel...?" she wondered, tensely, and her hand slipped from Pete's arm a little bit.

Daniel hopped up from the couch, guiltily, and turned around. Jack, who was a bit older, stood up more sedately, but his reaction was even better than Daniel's, when he saw who she was with.

"Uhm," Pete said, "Maybe I should go...?"

"Stay," Sam told him, sternly, and demanded of Daniel, "What is _he_ doing here?"

"Carter," Jack said, a bit stiffly, "I was just visiting with my son."

Daniel glanced at him, a bit too quickly, and then back to Sam with wide eyes, shaking his head imperceptibly to show that he didn't know that Jack was going to say such a thing.

Sam believed him. She wasn't sure if _anyone_ knew exactly what Jack was going to say next. "Really, Sammy," Pete said, "Maybe I should go."

Sam caught his arm as he made to leave, and snapped again, "Stay." To Jack she said, "I get why Daniel invited you tonight, I really do," and she glared at Daniel to show she knew _exactly_ what he'd been up to, "But why you came is a different story. _Sir_."

"Oh, for crying out loud, Carter!" Jack said, and her eyes widened at his outburst. She really hadn't expected him to do this in front of Pete. "Daniel didn't tell me that you were out on a date with Potter!"

"It's Peter," Pete corrected, in offended tones.

"It doesn't matter what he did, or didn't, tell you!" she yelled, "I didn't want you near him in the state he's in!" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she knew she'd done it.

'Oh, God, what did I just say?' she wondered, her hand flying to her mouth.

Daniel paled, and lowered his head. Jack clenched his jaw then questioned, voice going to that lethally calm tone that it took when he was very, very angry, "What is that supposed to mean?"

Carter bit her lip, then jutted out her chin, stubbornly. "Pete," she said, gently, glancing toward her boyfriend, "Maybe you'd better go. I'll explain later, I promise," she told him, as she ushered him to the door.

"Sam, is everything okay?" he asked, when she'd gotten him out onto the porch.

She nodded, "It's just work stuff, old friend's stuff, you know?" she said, too lightly for it to be genuine.

He nodded, his brown eyes concerned. But what she loved about him was his willingness to give her time. "All right," he said, and smiled. "I'll see you later, hon." And he leaned forward to give her a kiss, but for some reason, she turned just so.

He pulled back, looking deeply into her eyes, but she averted her gaze, guiltily. "See you later," she told him, and smiled, hoping he wouldn't make a big deal out of it.

He nodded, and walked away, glancing back at her once, uncertainly. She swallowed, waved, then went back inside, shutting the door behind her.

- - -

Jack was almost certain smoke was coming out of his ears, he was so ticked off. Samantha Carter had practically just accused him of... what, exactly? Hurting Daniel? Hadn't he already resolved this issue? Well, he had with Daniel, but that didn't keep _other_ people from wondering what the heck was going on with the two of them.

So when she came wandering back into the living room, from the foyer, he demanded, "Explain yourself, Carter."

Her chin came up, defiantly, and she took a moment before saying, "I've always been a little jealous of how close the two of you are..."

Daniel's head came up, suddenly, as he stared at her in open-mouthed shock. "Sam...?" he began weakly, but she shook her head at him.

"But I always realized there was an unhealthy side to it, too. Daniel has always looked up to you, almost to the point of hero-worship. It's only lately, that he's become less naive. The thing is," she said, and Jack had to clench his jaw to keep from interrupting her, "I think that's because he gave up on things for a little while. You moved away from him emotionally, and he had to make himself grow up. But that need to have you approve of him is still there, and that's what I worry about."

Daniel exclaimed, "But Sam--!"

"Wait," she told him, and he snapped his mouth shut, "The fact that he would go through with this hair-brained scheme that the other you concocted, tells me that Daniel seeks your approval _far_ too much for his own good. It's unhealthy, Jack."

_Jack_...?

He had trouble breathing for a moment and then his heart rate finally slowed up enough for him to say, "You're right." Her powder blue eyes widened in surprise, but he went on, "And we've been working on it. But I don't think he's going to be cured overnight... Sam."

She nodded, slowly, and Daniel cleared his throat and squeaked, "Uhm, guys... if you keep talking over my head like this, I'm either going to be scarred for life, or I'm going to kill one of you."

"Oh," Jack said, brow going up, "Yeah... Sorry, Daniel." He reached out and ruffled Daniel's hair, and Daniel glared and swatted his hand away. However, there was a touch of a smile on his lips, which proved how pleased he actually was by the gesture.

Sam murmured, "Sir... maybe you should go home now...?"

"Do you really want me to?" he asked, and she hesitated. Oh, God, she was really thinking it over, wasn't she?

"Yes," she answered, finally, and he nodded.

"All right then, Carter." And he gave Daniel a quick hug, which was not-quite, but _almost_ returned. Then he headed around the couch and stopped beside Samantha.

He gazed down at her, and she gazed up, not _too_ far up, since she was above average for a woman, but still nicely more feminine than him. "Good night, Samantha."

She blinked at him, then swallowed and averted her gaze. "Good night, sir."

He caught her chin and tilted her face up to see him. "Don't worry about Daniel and me so much, okay? Because if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be able to do this--"

And he braved a kiss.

"Sir!" she exclaimed, when he'd broken away, for a moment looking like she was going to deck him. But then the look disappeared when he grinned.

"'Night, Carter, 'night, Danny!" He waved in Daniel's direction, then got the heck out of there on the reply, "Good night, Jack."

**- - -**

**Notes:** Hey guys! Sorry this took so long! I had writer's block (procrastinating). Thanks for all the reviews! (Look at bottom for responses.) I know the "Warning" said that this is the next to the last chapter, but I have a backup plan in case you guys want more. So just let me know!

And thanks to _Harm Marie_, _Dreamer 22_, _Nelarun_, _shineyblueportal_!

Thanks, _Lisel_. Oh, noes! I just read that over again, and I know that there is not really much bonding in this chapter. Maybe if a lot of people say they want this longer, there will be. But as I've written the next chapter (which will either be posted tomorrow or the next day), there isn't much more bonding. -wince- Don't kill me, just review that you want more chaps. :D

_Fae Child19,_ hope you think the issues are being resolved okay. I feel like I rushed this chapter a bit.

I don't remember who, but one of you said something about not being able to wait for whatever trouble teenage Daniel got into next. I hope this minor trouble with inviting Jack over appeased that to some degree. :)

Thanks again, everybody! -_jinxed_


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** I don't own SG-1. I make no profit. No infringement intended... yada, yada, yada...

**Warnings:** :( This is the last, last chapter. Sorry guys!

**Rating:** PG-13 (Seriously. There's violence in this chapter. -finds it terribly wrong of her that she laughs as she writes that-)

**Spoilers:** Spoilers? Gosh... I suppose so... no, wait! What are spoilers again?

**- - - **

**"Alternative"**

**Chapter Twelve**

Sam was _still_ trying to figure out why she hadn't punched Jack's lights out.

The only thing she could figure was this: She was still in love with him. Not, "I loved him once, and I'll _always_ love him," but "I love him now, and I'm going to love him forever." There seemed to be a marginal difference.

And her face got hot everytime she thought about the way his lips had grazed hers. 'Oh, God!' she exclaimed mentally, as she drove with Daniel to the SGC, 'I'm like a teenage girl! Maybe what Daniel's got is contageous... Yeah right...'

"Sam," Daniel said, in the meantime, as if reading her thoughts, "About last night...?"

"What about last night?" she snapped, defensively, her face _already_ going bright pink.

She saw Daniel give her a cheeky, little half-grin out of the corner of her eye, and then he said, "I'm just trying to apologize."

"Oh," she murmured.

"I was feeling sort of... betrayed, I guess," he admitted.

"What?" she asked, "Why?"

"Because you were going out with Pete, and I know that you and Jack are meant for each other. Loyalty and all, the eighth deadly sin, apparently, or haven't you heard?"

"Oh, shut up," she retorted to his veiled jibe about her accusation that he sought Jack's approval too much. "And you're forgiven. I'm sure it's just the teenage hormones again. Although I can't understand why _you_ would be the one to feel betrayed, loyalty aside."

Daniel looked away, licking his lips nervously. "Uhm..." he said, and she got worried, all of a sudden, "Maybe it's because, I've always seen you like a big sister. But lately, I guess because of the sudden age-change, I'm starting to see you as more of a... mother-figure... or something... maybe... I don't know."

Sam glanced toward him, blinking in pure surprise. "Well," she said, "That's... _thank_ you, Daniel."

Daniel blushed, which was amazingly cute on that younger version of his angel-like face. "Oh, shut it..."

She grinned unrepentantly, "Really, Danny, I'm flattered."

"_Sam_," he groaned, then turned the tables on her a second later, "Don't make me bring up the kiss."

"You wouldn't..." she squeaked, and he bared his teeth. "Mercy, then, mercy!"

She started laughing a moment later, and Daniel smiled happily, and the rest of the ride was filled with contented, companionable silence.

- - -

Jack was telling Teal'c, "I'm going to propose to her, and then I'm going to retire. How's that sound?"

Teal'c raised his eyebrow. "I think that the weight you are lifting is too light to give you a proper work-out."

Jack blinked then glanced down at the ten-pound weight he was lifting. "Er... yeah." He got up from the padded work-out bench and went to put the weight back and get another one. But instead, he ended up standing by the weights and telling Teal'c, "Do you think she'll dump Pete?"

"I do not believe so, O'Neill," Teal'c said, and Jack wasn't sure if he was just messing around, or not. "You should apologize to Colonel Carter for your behavior."

"You're teasing me, aren't you?" Jack demanded, narrowing his eyes at the big-guy. "That's a sick sense of humor you have there, T."

Teal'c's tiny smile reassured him. "Indeed. Will you allow me to be your best man?"

"Uhm... you'll have to ask Daniel," Jack replied, "No, no, never mind. I'll make you both my best men, so that neither of you get into a brawl over it."

Teal'c inclined his head, "I am honored, O'Neill." Jack smiled and went to clap a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Well, I'd better go see if she's around yet," he couldn't help the grin that found it's way onto his face.

Teal'c smiled, and Jack headed off to go ask Samantha Carter to be his wife.

- - -

Sam was so nervous her fingers were sweating. She thought that she'd been nervous on her first date, ever. But nothing compared to the knowledge that the man she'd been in love with for years, had just kissed her the last time she'd seen him, and hadn't taken it back.

If he'd kissed her, what was next?

She was glad that Daniel had escaped to his office, claiming he missed cataloguing artifacts. He wouldn't see her biting her lips so much they were getting red, and rubbing her hands on her pants so many times, the pants were actually becoming damp.

There was a knock on the door, and Sam's senses were so on edge that she jumped nearly a foot off of her seat. "C-Come in!" she called, her voice cracking some.

She cleared it, and then her eyes widened, when she wondered how she _looked_. She started to try to straighten her hair, and ended up being caught in the middle of fluffing it out, when Jack entered.

He smiled and asked, "Busy?"

"N-No," she answered, and immediately dropped her hands.

"Samantha," Jack said, for the second time that week, using her full and first name.

He came to stand beside her chair, and then suddenly reached down and pulled her up by her hands. Sam stumbled, fell against him, heart beginning to beat wildly in her chest... and then she smelled him. Something about his scent was off... She drew away, eyes flickering toward his face, and she noticed the stubble there.

He was wearing his usual blue uniform, but there was something different about him that she just couldn't place until--

"Come on, Sam," he ordered, pulling her toward the door by her wrist.

"Wait. Sir!" she protested, but he switched his hand to her arm instead and brusquely pushed her out into the corridor.

And her eyes narrowed, when she saw Daniel, standing by the wall, looking pale and pinch-faced. "Sam, I..." he began, and Jack pulled a zat on him.

"We're going back through," he said, his tone borderline..._something._ "You, me, and Carter. Don't mess this up, Daniel, or I swear I'm going to shoot one of you. And believe me, I'd zat you both and drag you through before I'd let you go again."

Sam gritted her teeth and started to defend herself, but the next thing she knew, she was losing consciousness. As she slipped to the floor, she realized Jack had been expecting her to fight back all along...

- - -

Jack was actually whistling, he was aniticipating the moment so much. But all of that joy just rushed out of him, when he found Carter's office empty... yet her computer still on, showing a half-written report on its screen.

He swallowed back the bad taste that had suddenly grown in his mouth and rushed out of there, going to Daniel's office first before he leapt to conclusions.

But it was empty too, and when he had Daniel and Carter paged, neither of them showed up. So he went to the locker room and suited up for a fight. He left the BDUs, but he took his gun, and Teal'c, and they were soon going through the mirror, Jack hoping that it was still set to the last universe that it'd been used to go to.

- - -

When Jack zatted Sam, Daniel dove for him and tried to wrest the zat gun away. Instead, he ended up on the floor, with a bloody lip.

"Help me carry her, Daniel, or it's over right now," the double threatened, "I'll zat her one more time, and then I'll do it to you and myself. I can't do this anymore," he swore, "I can't go on without the two of you."

Daniel had swallowed and gotten up from the floor. "Okay, Jack," he said, tasting bitterness in his words and in the blood he licked from his lip. "Just know that I'm not going with you willingly. And I'm neither of us are staying."

Jack gritted his teeth, and motioned with his zat for Daniel to pick Sam up. Daniel clenched his own jaw and did his best to get his arm under Sam's, and her arm over his shoulders. When he started to rise, with her dangling off of him, Jack took up the slack on her other side, and then took out a small device, which he pushed a button, or something, on.

A moment later, Daniel felt an odd buzz, and wondered, "Is this the invisibility device?"

"It just cloaked us, but it'll only last for a few minutes," Jack affirmed, "So let's get going."

Daniel noticed the way this Jack wasn't quite looking at him, directly, and hoped that the guilt was killing him. 'Maybe he deserved to have lost his friends.' And he should've trusted his first instinct when this Jack had shown up in his office a few days ago, asking for his help.

What was it that his Jack had told him? _"But when it comes to you, it's hard to say what I can and can't do."_ Daniel winced at the memory. 'I should've known better...' he berated himself.

"He's coming after you, you know?" he couldn't keep from saying aloud.

"Daniel," the doppelganger snapped, "Shut up, or I'm going to shoot you too."

Daniel nodded, slowly, "I will, just know this one more thing--I take back what I said about loving you, and _Sam_ will never love you either. You're not Jack. You're just a _shadow_ of him."

He did look at Daniel now, his dark eyes filled with tears, and his jaw clenched against the hurt. "As long as I can keep you both, it just doesn't matter to me anymore."

And that was the reason Daniel knew this wasn't Jack anymore, if he ever had been.

- - -

"I'm going to kill him," Jack growled, when he and Teal'c were finally away from the alternate reality SGC and had found themselves a truck to get farther than they had on foot.

"Is this due to the fact that not a living soul left their vehicle at the SGC, or because the double has taken Daniel Jackson and Samantha Carter hostage?" Teal'c wondered, glancing at Jack, with a tilt of his beanie-covered head and a raised eyebrow.

Jack clenched his jaw and swung the truck over to the curb. "Both."

"Do you believe that he would take them to his home, knowing that you would come for them?" Teal'c asked, as they hopped out of the truck that they'd hijacked at a gas station a few miles back.

"I don't know, but I'm going to kill the crazy idiot wherever he is," Jack seethed.

He pulled his gun out of his pants' waist band and headed up the front steps, stopping in front of the door and signalling for Teal'c to stand on the other side of it.

He swung it open, and aimed his gun inside. There was no one there, and he was sure that there was no one inside the house, but he signalled for Teal'c to follow behind him, anyway, as he headed deeper within.

No one...

Swearing, Jack lowered his gun and put it away. Then, for good measure, he punched a hole in the wall. "Where will we go next, O'Neill?"

"I don't know!" Jack snapped, holding his hand and grimacing. "I mean, I know I should know, since it's me, but I just don't!"

Teal'c stood silently, his bulk itself lending comfort and reassurance. Jack sighed and murmured, "I'm sorry I yelled. I'm an idiot in both realities."

Teal'c inclined his head. "You are an honorable man, O'Neill. I do not believe that you would injure Daniel Jackson or Colonel Carter."

"Great, the whole _world_ believes in me, but I can't find a drop of faith," Jack muttered.

And then something occurred to him. There _was_ one other place that his double could have taken them.

- - -

Sam sat with Daniel on the couch, as they watched Jack's alternate reality self pace back and forth across the floor boards, occasionally taking his gun from the back of his pants and examining it to make sure that there were _still_ bullets inside of it, and that he _still_ remembered how to cock it.

They were at his cabin, the second place that Sam had predicted that he would take them. Once upon a time, she'd imagined coming here alone with him on some romantic getaway. But now those thoughts were being usurped by this latest irony.

Daniel's lip was swollen and busted, giving evidence that he'd tried to fight back after she'd been rendered unconscious by the zat blast. Every now and then, his tongue would flick out to taste the scab, and she would have to restrain the urge to wince.

Now, to bring some solace to herself and him, she reached over and put her hand on his shoulder for a moment. He smiled at her, wanly, and Jack stopped his pacing to give them a paranoid glare.

Sam dropped her hand and asked him, harshly, "Where did you go so wrong?"

He froze for a moment and then gave her a flippant shrug. "You've seen me do dispicable things before, Sam."

She tilted her chin up at him, angrily, and retorted, "It's not the same thing. Everything I've ever seen you do was out of rashness or ignorance."

"You're saying I'm stupid...?" he asked, tone so low she wasn't sure if he was ticked or hurt.

"I'm saying that that I don't believe this is what you really want," she ventured. "Stop this now before it's too late, Jack."

He started to shake his head, and there was a sound like a door being slammed open. They looked toward the front of the cabin, hearts racing, and saw _their_ Jack, and Teal'c, standing side-by-side, aiming a zat and a glock at the alternate reality Jack.

The door behind them had been broken down.

The alternate-Jack aimed his gun back at them, for a hair-raising moment, and then moved imperceptibly, and lowered the gun. "Okay," he said, "You got me. Are you going to just stand there, or are you going to shoot, Jack?"

Jack, _their_ Jack, clenched his jaw. "You have no idea how _much_ I want to shoot you."

"So do it," the twin challenged, and Sam held her breath.

Jack's finger twitched on the trigger, and Teal'c murmured, quietly, "O'Neill..."

And then when Jack's expression became hard and determined, and he sighted down his arms and the barrel of the gun, Daniel jumped to his feet and stood in front of the other Jack. "No!"

"Daniel!" Jack exclaimed, and lowered his arms. "What the heck are you doing?"

"No, Jack," Daniel said, his tone quiet and gentle. "He wants you to do it because he could never do it himself." He glanced back and up at Jack, and the man clenched his jaw and averted his gaze.

Their Jack's mouth dropped open, and he wondered, "Are you all right?" Daniel nodded, and Jack looked toward her, eyes warm and concerned, "Carter?"

She smiled a bit shakily, and nodded too. He turned his gaze back to the other Jack and told him, "You idiot."

The other Jack snorted and gently pushed Daniel aside so that he could walk over to where Jack stood. Sam noticed, worriedly, that his gun still dangled from his right hand. But the general was still holding his gun too, both hands firmly placed in position, however, aiming the gun at the floor.

"Here's the rest of the antidote," twin-Jack said, digging something out of his left pocket, with his free hand. "Make sure he takes it." He gave the vial to Jack, who finally let go of the gun with one hand to take it.

"You knew I was coming?" he asked, looking somewhat surprised.

"I had this whole thing planned out. You were going to come, I was going to bargain with the antidote, you were going to threaten but..." Other-Jack shrugged. "Guess things don't always go like we plan them."

Jack nodded, and tucked the antidote away in his own pants' pocket. "Come on, Daniel, Sam," he called, quietly, and Sam moved to get up, and Daniel came to help her.

They moved away from the other Jack, and toward theirs. "I'm getting rid of the mirror, so you can forget about ever pulling this stunt again," Jack told other-Jack firmly.

He nodded, and Jack nodded in return. "Come on, kids," he murmured to his team, softly, "Let's go home."

- - -

_Epilogue:_

When they got back, there had been apologies, and mortification, mostly on Jack's part. But Daniel had also apologized to Sam for getting her into that mess, and she had apologized to Jack for not decking him when he'd kissed her.

But, now things were settled down some. Daniel was back to his regular age, and although it was a little strange, Jack was being more open with all of them.

So, even if she was the one stuck with writing the report on the whole incident, she didn't mind...

"Busy?" someone asked, and she nearly fell off of her chair this time.

When she saw that it was Jack, she retorted, "Sir, don't _do_ that!"

He looked chagrined. "I guess I should've knocked?"

She gave him a look, and he came further into her office, closing the door behind him. And then he kept coming, moving around her desk and kneeling beside her chair. She stared at him, heart suddenly in her throat.

When he took her hands, she demanded, "What are you doing, sir?"

Jack cleared his throat, and returned, "I'm trying to propose to you, Carter, could you cut me some slack?"

Sam's eyes widened and she tried to pull her hands away. "I'm dating Pete, sir!"

"Dump him," Jack retorted. "I love you, and I want you to have my children."

Sam snorted. "Oh, very romantic, Jack!"

"Please, Sam!" he begged, "I'm on my knees here! And that's saying a lot, since I've actually had surgury on one of them and this position is really very uncomfortable." He grimaced, and she had to chuckle.

"I'm going to need a lot more than a gallant demonstration," Sam told him, while trying to keep a straight face.

Jack winced. "Oh, come on, Carter. Tell me you're joking...?"

She shook her head, feigning a regretful expression. "If you're going to go through with this, prove it to me."

"I'm quitting," he replied, bluntly, and she stared.

"Are you _sure_?" Now she wasn't messing around. If he was going to retire, that was it. There was no turning back.

"I'd do anything for you, Carter," he said, his expression pained in more than one way, "You know that."

Something warm and tingly shot all the way from Sam's heart to the hands that Jack was holding tightly, despite their slipperyness. They twitched, and a second later, she found herself grabbing the back of his neck and capturing his lips with hers...

"Okay, sir," she told him, as she came away for breath, "I'll marry you."

- - -

"O'Neill has promised me that _I_ would be his best man," Teal'c said, sonorously, and Daniel pouted.

Jack grinned, and patted Teal'c on the back. "Come on, Teal'c, quit teasing Danny. He doesn't know when you're joking, like I do."

"He's joking?" Sam wondered, looking highly skeptical, and Daniel relaxed some.

"Good, because I was about to get angry with you, Jack."

Jack smiled, happily, then took Daniel's arm and tugged as he got to his feet. "Come out to the pier with me, will you?" he requested, and Daniel blinked, open-mouthed at him, then glanced questioningly at Teal'c and Sam.

They shrugged at him, and so he rose from the kitchen table and followed his ex-CO out onto the deck of his little, cabin-lake.

They sat in the lawn chairs already set up there from earlier, and Jack asked him, "How've you been, Danny?"

"Okay..." Daniel murmured, "What is this about?"

Jack glanced over at him, his gaze leaving the still water of the lake. A smile tugged at the corner of his lip. "I just wanted to tell you that the fact that you still care about me after all the crap I put you through means a lot to me."

He reached over and caught Daniel by the back of his neck, squeezing gently. Daniel felt a smile edging onto his face, as he replied, "What are you really trying to say, Jack?"

Jack cuffed him, lightly, then removed his hand. "I'm trying to say that I love you, nit-wit."

Daniel actually chuckled. Jack's brows went up, but he waited until Daniel spoke, "I love you too... Dad." And he got up before Jack could soak it in.

He was already walking back toward the cabin when Jack called after him, "What did you say, Daniel?" Daniel glanced back over his shoulder innocently, to see Jack limping hurriedly after him. "Hey! Daniel! Did you just call me 'Dad'?"

Daniel turned away, grinning cheekily to himself. When Jack reached him, and whipped him around, he wondered, blankly, "What?"

Jack's eyes narrowed, and he shook his head, disbelievingly. "Why, you little punk..." And then he chuckled... laughed, and pulled Daniel into such a tight bear-hug he thought he was going to break some ribs.

"Thanks..." Daniel grinned back at Jack as he broke away. "Son."

This time, Daniel didn't think it would have been possible to suppress his smile...not that he would have even tried.

- Fin -

**Notes and Review Responses:** Hey ya'll! How's it goin'? I hope you don't hate me _too_ much right now. -giggles nervously- And I hope my last chapter made sense to everyone. If it didn't, feel free to flame me.

Thank you, _Nelarun_, _Harm Marie_, _Dreamer 22_! _AT Fan_, hope you didn't mean "cured" as in cured of his neuroses because "whooee!" No, sorry, just kidding. He'll be okay despite my lack of wrapping up certain things. As long as he has Jack, and Sam, and Teal'c, Daniel will be okay. :)

Well, thanks again everybody for the comments and questions and reviews! They were really helpful in many ways. Hope to be writing again soon, just not something so long. :D

-_jinxed_


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